crook

[kroo k]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crook ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a bent or curved implement, piece, appendage, etc.; hook.

the hooked part of anything.

an instrument or implement having a bent or curved part, as a shepherd's staff hooked at one end or the crosier of a bishop or abbot.

a dishonest person, especially a sharper, swindler, or thief.

a bend, turn, or curve: a crook in the road.

the act of crooking or bending.

a pothook.

Also called shank. a device on some musical wind instruments for changing the pitch, consisting of a piece of tubing inserted into the main tube.

verb (used with object)

to bend; curve; make a crook in.

Slang. to steal, cheat, or swindle: She crooked a ring from that shop.

verb (used without object)

to bend; curve.

Origin of crook

1125–75; Middle English crok(e) < Old Norse krāka hook

crook

[kroo k]

adjective Australian.

sick or feeble.

ill-humored; angry.

out of order; functioning improperly.

unsatisfactory; disappointing.

Origin of crook

First recorded in 1875–80; perhaps alteration of cronk

Crook

[kroo k]

noun

George,1829–90, U.S. general in Indian wars.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for crook

rogue, villain, swindler, racketeer, scoundrel, robber, cheat, shyster, knave, pilferer, shark, fork, flex, meander, slither, curve, zigzag, bow, hook, snake

Examples from the Web for crook

Contemporary Examples of crook

The crook then produces a MetroCard of his own and offers to swipe the would-be traveler through—for a premium price.
My Patrol With the NYPD’s Bill Bratton
Michael Daly
March 14, 2014
Errichetti was a foul-mouthed megalomaniac and “a crook at heart,” Greene wrote.
The Real Story and Lesson of the Abscam Sting in ‘American Hustle’
Jimmy So
December 17, 2013
Once I exposed the leading citizen of Dallas, the very top guy, as a crook who had stolen money.
Hugh Aynesworth Has Spent His Career Debunking JFK Conspiracy Theories
Malcolm Jones
November 22, 2013
Kevin Kline won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his hilarious turn as Otto, an Anglophobe crook, in this 1988 comedy.
Best Orgasms in Movies, in Honor of National Orgasm Day (VIDEO)
Marlow Stern
July 31, 2013
Iranians preferred the populist they did not know to the crook they did.
Rowhani's Empty Victory
Andrew Apostolou
June 19, 2013

Historical Examples of crook

And he's promised to pay for the pinto, so that don't make him a crook.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
Now, the stool-pigeon in this trick is a swell English crook.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
With them, the crook is presumed guilty at the outset of whatever may be charged against him.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
If you'd been a crook, well, God knows how we'd a-panned out.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
I am an outlaw, and get my living by hook and by crook in a manner it boots not now to tell of.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Howard Pyle

British Dictionary definitions for crook

crook

noun

a curved or hooked thing

a staff with a hooked end, such as a bishop's crosier or shepherd's staff

a turn or curve; bend

informal a dishonest person, esp a swindler or thief

the act or an instance of crooking or bending

Also called: shank a piece of tubing added to a brass instrument in order to obtain a lower harmonic series

verb

to bend or curve or cause to bend or curve

adjective

Australian and NZ informal

ill
of poor quality
unpleasant; bad

go crook or go off crook Australian and NZ informal to lose one's temper

go crook at or go crook on Australian and NZ informal to rebuke or upbraid

Word Origin for crook

C12: from Old Norse krokr hook; related to Swedish krok, Danish krog hook, Old High German krācho hooked tool

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

Word Origin and History for crook

early 13c., "hook-shaped instrument or weapon," from Old Norse krokr "hook, corner," cognate with Old High German kracho "hooked tool," of obscure origin but perhaps related to a widespread group of Germanic kr- words meaning "bent, hooked." Meaning "swindler" is American English, 1879, from crooked in figurative sense of "dishonest" (1708). Crook "dishonest trick" was in Middle English.

Idioms and Phrases with crook

crook

In addition to the idioms beginning with crook

crook one's elbow

also see:

by hook or crook