crick

[krik]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crick ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a sharp, painful spasm of the muscles, as of the neck or back.

verb (used with object)

to give a crick or wrench to (the neck, back, etc.).

Origin of crick

1400–50; late Middle English crikke, perhaps akin to crick²

crick

[krik]

noun Northern, North Midland, and Western U.S.

creek(def 1).

Crick

[krik]

noun

Francis Harry Compton,1916–2004, English biophysicist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1962.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for crick

cramp, pain, stitch, twinge, kink, wrench, jarring, ache, convulsion

Examples from the Web for crick

Contemporary Examples of crick

Crick also questioned the authenticity of another piece, “A Hanging.”
Orwell’s Lies: His Diaries Reveal Problems with the Truth
Jimmy So
August 19, 2012

Historical Examples of crick

"Come down to the crick with me after tea, and I'll explain," said Will.
The Raid From Beausejour; And How The Carter Boys Lifted The Mortgage
Charles G. D. Roberts
Mr. Moss was disentangling the crick in his back for the last time that day.
The Law-Breakers
Ridgwell Cullum
Sounds like somebody slappin' the crick with a fishin'-pole.
The Duke Of Chimney Butte
G. W. Ogden
I disremember just how fur that last stop is from the Crick, but I think it's betwixt 25 and 30 mile.
Si Klegg, Book 5 (of 6)
John McElroy
There was a crick in his neck, but he decided he could stand it.
Out Like a Light
Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for crick

crick

noun

a painful muscle spasm or cramp, esp in the neck or back

verb

(tr) to cause a crick in (the neck, back, etc)

Word Origin for crick

C15: of uncertain origin

crick

noun

US and Canadian a dialect word for creek (def. 2)

Crick

noun

Francis Harry Compton. 1916–2004, English molecular biologist: helped to discover the helical structure of DNA; Nobel prize for physiology or medicine shared with James Watson and Maurice Wilkins 1962

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for crick

early 15c., of uncertain origin; OED says "probably onomatopœic."

crick in Medicine

crick

[krĭk]

n.

A painful cramp or muscle spasm, as in the back or neck.

v.

To cause a painful cramp or muscle spasm in by turning or wrenching.

Crick

[krĭk]Francis Henry Compton 1916-2004

British biologist who with James D. Watson proposed a spiral model, the double helix, for the molecular structure of DNA. He shared a 1962 Nobel Prize for advances in the study of genetics.

crick in Science

Crick

[krĭk]Francis Harry Compton 1916-2004

See Note at Rosalind Franklin.

British biologist who with James D. Watson identified the structure of DNA in 1953. By analyzing the patterns cast by x-rays striking DNA molecules, they found that DNA has the structure of a double helix, consisting of two spirals linked together at the base, forming ladderlike rungs. For this work they shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine with Maurice Wilkins.