crow

1
[ kroh ]
See synonyms for crow on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any of several large oscine birds of the genus Corvus, of the family Corvidae, having a long, stout bill, lustrous black plumage, and a wedge-shaped tail, as the common C. brachyrhynchos, of North America.

  2. any of several other birds of the family Corvidae.

  1. any of various similar birds of other families.

  2. Crow, Astronomy. the constellation Corvus.

Idioms about crow

  1. as the crow flies, in a straight line; by the most direct route: The next town is thirty miles from here, as the crow flies.

  2. eat crow, Informal. to be forced to admit to having made a mistake, as by retracting an emphatic statement; suffer humiliation: His prediction was completely wrong, and he had to eat crow.

  1. have a crow to pick / pluck with someone, Midland and Southern U.S. to have a reason to disagree or argue with someone.

Origin of crow

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English crowe, Old English crāwe, crāwa; cognate with Old High German krāwa; akin to Dutch kraai, German Krähe

Words that may be confused with crow

Words Nearby crow

Other definitions for crow (2 of 3)

crow2
[ kroh ]

verb (used without object),crowed or, for 1, (especially British), crew;crowed;crow·ing.
  1. to utter the characteristic cry of a rooster.

  2. to gloat, boast, or exult (often followed by over).

  1. to utter an inarticulate cry of pleasure, as an infant does.

noun
  1. the characteristic cry of a rooster.

  2. an inarticulate cry of pleasure.

Origin of crow

2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English crouen, crowen, Old English crāwan; cognate with Dutch kraaien, German krähen; see crow1

Other words for crow

Other words from crow

  • crower, noun
  • crow·ing·ly, adverb

Other definitions for Crow (3 of 3)

Crow
[ kroh ]

noun
  1. a member of a Siouan people of eastern Montana.

  2. a Siouan language closely related to Hidatsa.

Origin of Crow

3
1795–1805; translation of North American French (gens des) Corbeaux Raven (people), literal translation of Crow apsá˙loke a Crow Indian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use crow in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for crow (1 of 3)

crow1

/ (krəʊ) /


noun
  1. any large gregarious songbird of the genus Corvus, esp C. corone (the carrion crow) of Europe and Asia: family Corvidae . Other species are the raven, rook, and jackdaw and all have a heavy bill, glossy black plumage, and rounded wings: See also carrion crow Related adjective: corvine

  2. any of various other corvine birds, such as the jay, magpie, and nutcracker

  1. any of various similar birds of other families

  2. offensive an old or ugly woman

  3. short for crowbar

  4. as the crow flies as directly as possible

  5. eat crow US and Canadian informal to be forced to do something humiliating

  6. stone the crows stone

Origin of crow

1
Old English crāwa; related to Old Norse krāka, Old High German krāia, Dutch kraai

British Dictionary definitions for crow (2 of 3)

crow2

/ (krəʊ) /


verb(intr)
  1. (past tense crowed or crew) to utter a shrill squawking sound, as a cock

  2. (often foll by over) to boast one's superiority

  1. (esp of babies) to utter cries of pleasure

noun
  1. the act or an instance of crowing

Origin of crow

2
Old English crāwan; related to Old High German krāen, Dutch kraaien

Derived forms of crow

  • crower, noun
  • crowingly, adverb

British Dictionary definitions for Crow (3 of 3)

Crow

/ (krəʊ) /


noun
  1. plural Crows or Crow a member of a Native American people living in E Montana

  2. the language of this people, belonging to the Siouan family

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with crow

crow

In addition to the idiom beginning with crow

  • crown jewels
  • crow over

also see:

  • as the crow flies
  • eat crow

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.