crony
Americannoun
plural
croniesnoun
Usage
What does crony mean? A crony is a close friend or associate, especially one among several.Crony can be used in a neutral way meaning much the same thing as buddy or pal, as in I still get together with my college cronies. But the word is most often used in a negative way to refer to a lackey or an accomplice in some kind of shady or illegal activity.It’s especially used in a political context to refer to friends or associates of people in power who are appointed to positions or otherwise shown favor due to their relationship with that person, rather than for their qualifications, as in He ran for office to enrich himself and his cronies. When used this way, it implies a criticism of such people.The term cronyism refers to the practice of appointing and otherwise favoring people in this way.Example: Several of the company’s executives were known to be cronies of the CEO, making them unpopular with many employees.
Etymology
Origin of crony
1655–65; alleged to be university slang; perhaps < Greek chrónios for a long time, long-continued, derivative of chrónos time; chrono-
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.
"Circle of cronies" sounds like the kind of language Washington used to describe Noriega's government in the 1980s.
From BBC
This concern placed the Fed in open conflict with Truman and his Treasury secretary, his crony John Wesley Snyder.
From Los Angeles Times
The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands in Southeast Asia, had long been ruled by a succession of dynasties, out-of-touch with ordinary Filipinos, and their cronies while wealth inequality deepened.
From Salon
Its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, is in prison, along with a couple of his cronies.
From Los Angeles Times
As a result, the welfare of the leader’s cronies begins to decline.
From Salon
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.
