croak
Americanverb (used without object)
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croaks,
present (3rd person singular)
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croaked,
past participle, past
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croaking
present participle
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to utter a low-pitched, harsh cry, as the sound of a frog or a raven.
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to speak with a low, rasping voice.
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Slang. to die.
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to talk despondingly; prophesy trouble or evil; grumble.
verb (used with object)
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croaks,
present (3rd person singular)
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croaked,
past participle, past
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croaking
present participle
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to utter or announce by croaking.
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Slang. to kill.
noun
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croaks
plural
verb
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(intr) (of frogs, crows, etc) to make a low, hoarse cry
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to utter (something) in this manner
he croaked out the news
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(intr) to grumble or be pessimistic
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slang
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(intr) to die
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(tr) to kill
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noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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croaksimple
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croakssimple
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have croakedperfect
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has croakedperfect
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am croakingprogressive
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are croakingprogressive
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is croakingprogressive
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have been croakingperfect progressive
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has been croakingperfect progressive
Past
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croakedsimple
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had croakedperfect
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was croakingprogressive
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were croakingprogressive
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had been croakingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of croak
1550–60; earlier croke, probably imitative; compare Old English cræcetian (of a raven) to croak
Explanation
A croak is the low, hoarse sound a frog makes. Crows and people with sore throats can croak, too. It’s also a slang word for “die.” When people croak, they need either a glass of water or an undertaker. Croak is a noun or a verb. A bullfrog’s croak can be very loud. A parched cowboy might croak, “howdy.” Another meaning of the word is "die," as in, "I'm sorry your hamster's dead, but you knew he was going to croak soon.” This kind of croak came from the popular idea that people make a distinctive sound just before they die, a "death rattle." Now there’s something to look forward to!
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.
See Examples For:
"There's no time for that. Glasgow on the weekend, mate, it's bouncing," the Scot said with a slight croak in his voice.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
There’s a wicked irony in micromanaging your entire life on Earth only to croak and have your soul potentially jettisoned to some formless state of being, entirely unknown to mere mortals.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2025
The stock market is crashing, there’s a war in Europe, everyone on “This is Us” is about to croak.
From New York Times ● May 22, 2022
The cry of adults is more like the croak of a frog or the sound of a weed wacker that won’t quite start than that of a songbird, she said.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 15, 2022
“Remind me,” I croak, my throat dry, head aching.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
At the end of “The Final Conflict,” the third “Omen” movie from 1981, Damien the Antichrist croaks out the words, “Nazarene, you have won ... nothing,” then collapses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024
Each one’s momentary glow pulses alive and fades in syncopated rhythm with the drowsy croaks of bullfrogs.
From Salon ● May 10, 2024
A healthy coral reef is noisy, full of the croaks, purrs, and grunts of various fishes and the crackling of snapping shrimp.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024
These beady-eyed amphibians can be found on the banks of noisy streams throughout China, where the rapids would drown out ordinary croaks and chirps.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 11, 2024
We walk around the twisting trunks, going off the beaten path toward the trilling croaks of more tree frogs.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
"Vooaaria!" the bird croaked, a concoction of sounds that resembled a drunken old man.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
"The only flowers anyone saw in Aston were the ones you threw in the hole after you when you croaked it at the age of 53 'cos you'd worked yourself to death."
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2025
When she asked him what she needed to bring with them, he croaked, “The clocks.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2024
“What’s different? You are different …” I croaked out.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2023
“Climb onto my shoulders,” the man croaked, squatting down atop the bench.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
“As we got to the end of the season losing these games, it was just croaking me,” Kraft says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026
Maybe that’s not the most dignified way to go, but for Annette and others like her, it’s better than croaking in the heat of the desert sun.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2025
Because of this, and the fact that it makes some people sound like they are on the verge of tears, some doctors once believed that the croaking or breathy vocalizations were tied to psychological trauma.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
In one case, the Telegraph reports, a couple in the French countryside was ordered to get rid of a pond because the sound of croaking frogs annoyed the neighbors.
From NewsForKids.net ● Mar. 13, 2024
When it finally did, I sounded like I was croaking out the lyrics.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
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.
