crock
1 Americannoun
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an earthenware pot, jar, or other container.
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a fragment of earthenware; potsherd.
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Slang. euphemistic shortening of crock of shit.
noun
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a person or thing that is old, decrepit, or broken-down.
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Slang. a person who complains about or insists on being treated for an imagined illness.
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an old ewe.
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an old worn-out horse.
verb (used with object)
noun
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dialect soot or smut
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colour that rubs off fabric
verb
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dialect (tr) to soil with or as if with soot
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(intr) (of a dyed fabric) to release colour when rubbed, as a result of imperfect dyeing
noun
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an earthen pot, jar, etc
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a piece of broken earthenware
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Also: crock of shit. informal a quantity or source of lies or nonsense
noun
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slang a person or thing, such as a car, that is old or decrepit (esp in the phrase old crock )
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an old broken-down horse or ewe
verb
Etymology
Origin of crock1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English crokke, Old English croc(c), crocca “pot”; cognate with Old Norse krukka “jug”
Origin of crock2
First recorded in 1520–30; Middle English crok “old ewe,” perhaps akin to crack (verb) and obsolete crack “whore”; compare Low German krakke “broken-down horse”
Origin of crock3
First recorded in 1650–60; origin uncertain
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.
So when these master-of-the-universe types say they can function on four, five hours, it’s a complete crock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026
Nutria hunters can got to Nutria.com for a number of recipes for cooking the rodent, including a crock pot preparation, nutria chili and stuffed nutria hindquarters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025
As Fintan O'Toole quipped recently in the Irish Times, his country "found the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow without even trying to catch the leprechaun."
From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2024
I keep one crock of utensils on the counter, all others live in drawers.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
She had dumped the peelings in a large crock, which like most everything in the house had been made for some other purpose.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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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.