crouch
Americanverb (used without object)
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to stoop or bend low.
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to bend close to the ground, as an animal preparing to spring or shrinking with fear.
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to bow or stoop servilely; cringe.
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
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(intr) to bend low with the limbs pulled up close together, esp (of an animal) in readiness to pounce
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(intr) to cringe, as in humility or fear
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(tr) to bend (parts of the body), as in humility or fear
noun
Other Word Forms
- croucher noun
- crouchingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of crouch
1175–1225; Middle English crouchen, perhaps blend of couchen to lie down ( couch ) and croken to crook 1
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.
Applegate was crouching at the scorer’s table waiting to be buzzed in.
From Los Angeles Times
On Sunday evening, mourners crouched around a makeshift memorial and wrote heartfelt messages to Porter and his family on a small board above his photo.
From Los Angeles Times
Then we saw one person crouching down on a small steep hill, and we immediately stopped and asked if the desert lilies were blooming.
From Los Angeles Times
As I crouched behind a rippling fountain, stretching and contorting my body to attain the correct angle, I began to wonder, “Do the Lumineers think I’m some kind of a lunatic?”
From Los Angeles Times
To my right, an elderly man crouched, covering his wife.
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.
