croak

[ krohk ]

/ kroʊk /

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See synonyms for: croak / croaking on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to utter a low-pitched, harsh cry, as the sound of a frog or a raven.

to speak with a low, rasping voice.

Slang. to die.

to talk despondingly; prophesy trouble or evil; grumble.

verb (used with object)

to utter or announce by croaking.

Slang. to kill.

noun

the act or sound of croaking.

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Origin of croak

1550–60; earlier croke, probably imitative; compare Old English cræcetian (of a raven) to croak

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH croak

creak, creek, croak

Words nearby croak

Crius, CRM, CRNA, CRO, Croagh Patrick, croak, croaker, croaky, Croat, Croatia, Croatian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use croak in a sentence

The marine ecologist at Cornell University is listening to a humpback whale song, her fingers bobbing like a conductor’s to each otherworldly croak and whine.
‘Fathom’ seeks to unravel humpback whales’ soulful songs|Jake Buehler|June 22, 2021|Science News
This dip in sensitivity falls just between the two most prominent frequencies of a male green tree frog’s croak, suggesting that inflated lungs don’t affect a female’s ability to hear her own species.
Female green tree frogs have noise-canceling lungs that help them hear mates|Jonathan Lambert|March 4, 2021|Science News
When Tony takes over Danny's body, his voice begins to croak and he shakes his pointer finger for emphasis.
Imaginary Friends in Movies|Marlow Stern|May 5, 2011|DAILY BEAST
And then I sit on a bench facing the grave and a raven says something in a croak a few steps from me.
Robert Bolaño's European Adventures|Roberto Bolano|April 28, 2011|DAILY BEAST

But dey can't hang me, no sah, dey can't, 'cause mah man croak two weeks later.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
He will awake to drive away the crows which croak around the mountain.
The Story Of The Duchess Of Cicogne And Of Monsieur De Boulingrin|Anatole France
By my sword, the Sweetheart of the Faith, never did frogs at a mid-summer drought croak more frightfully than those scamps.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman|Eugne Sue
Suppose we'd croak this man in th' hot par-rt av th' p'litical fight; what happens?
The Wreckers|Francis Lynde
From a small almost black lake rose, like a mysterious wail, the plaintive croak of tiny frogs.
Dream Tales and Prose Poems|Ivan Turgenev

British Dictionary definitions for croak

croak

/ (krəʊk) /

verb

(intr) (of frogs, crows, etc) to make a low, hoarse cry

to utter (something) in this mannerhe croaked out the news

(intr) to grumble or be pessimistic

slang

(intr) to die
(tr) to kill

noun

a low hoarse utterance or sound

Derived forms of croak

croaky, adjectivecroakily, adverbcroakiness, noun

Word Origin for croak

Old English crācettan; related to Old Norse krāka a crow; see creak

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

croak

Origin of croak

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH croak

Words nearby croak

Words related to croak

How to use croak in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for croak

Derived forms of croak

Word Origin for croak