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Showing results for cripes. Search instead for gripes.
Synonyms

cripes

American  
[krahyps] / kraɪps /

interjection

  1. (used as a mild oath or an exclamation of astonishment.)

cripes British  
/ kraɪps /

interjection

  1. old-fashioned an expression of surprise

"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

Etymology

Origin of cripes

First recorded in 1905–10; apparently euphemistic alteration of Christ

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I was a pallbearer at her sister’s funeral, for cripes sake!

From Slate • Jun. 12, 2021

"Well, by cripes, I got a boy t' look out fer, and I ain't rich as some, but all I got goes in the pot!" cried Big Medicine impulsively.

From The Phantom Herd by Bower, B. M.

"I know, by cripes, I'm goin' to mend my ways," Big Medicine declared meaningly.

From The Phantom Herd by Bower, B. M.

"I'll take a lot from you, but by cripes they's got to be a line drawed somewheres!"

From The Phantom Herd by Bower, B. M.

"Seems t' me we've done enough ridin' and actin', by cripes, t' make half a dozen pitchers better'n what I've ever saw."

From The Phantom Herd by Bower, B. M.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.