crouch

[ krouch ]

/ kraʊtʃ /

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See synonyms for: crouch / crouched / crouching on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to stoop or bend low.

to bend close to the ground, as an animal preparing to spring or shrinking with fear.

to bow or stoop servilely; cringe.

verb (used with object)

to bend low.

noun

the act of crouching.

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Origin of crouch

1175–1225; Middle English crouchen, perhaps blend of couchen to lie down (see couch) and croken to crook¹

OTHER WORDS FROM crouch

croucher, nouncrouch·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use crouch in a sentence

Bernard: With Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, people finally became accustomed to reading subtitles.
Sony Pictures Classics’ Michael Barker and Tom Bernard on Woody Allen and the State of Indie Film|Richard Porton|May 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then for the first time, I noticed a man crouching there in the shadow.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He looped around in the grass, flanking the mine mouth, slow, quiet now, crouching a little.
The Ballad of Johnny France|Richard Ben Cramer|January 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Every time the minute was up, the phone would beep, which was excruciating for the person crouching by a door vent.
The McConnell Wiretapper Speaks|Megan McArdle|May 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The French designer presented a hoop-skirt gown that was turned up to reveal four little girls crouching underneath.
Jean Paul Gaultier’s Hoop Skirt Trick, Vanity Fair's Best Dressed Competition|The Fashion Beast Team|January 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Then crouching low, he crossed the room to where the strainer top of the sewer drain was placed in the concrete floor.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
It is the picture of a girl, crouching in a kneeling position, all the agony of death showing clearly in her upturned eyes.
Uncanny Tales|Various
It means—'crouching down very closely on account of the pain.'
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
The Great Dane, crouching close and snarling, watched him as a cat watches a mouse.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run|Stanley R. Matthews
With racing pulses, he lifted his eyes and saw a huge dog crouching in the path before him.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run|Stanley R. Matthews

British Dictionary definitions for crouch

crouch

/ (kraʊtʃ) /

verb

(intr) to bend low with the limbs pulled up close together, esp (of an animal) in readiness to pounce

(intr) to cringe, as in humility or fear

(tr) to bend (parts of the body), as in humility or fear

noun

the act of stooping or bending

Word Origin for crouch

C14: perhaps from Old French crochir to become bent like a hook, from croche hook

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

crouch

Origin of crouch

OTHER WORDS FROM crouch

Words related to crouch

How to use crouch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for crouch

Word Origin for crouch