crowbar

[ kroh-bahr ]

/ ˈkroʊˌbɑr /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crowbar ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also called crow. a steel bar, usually flattened and slightly bent at one or both ends, used as a lever.

verb (used with object), crow·barred, crow·bar·ring.

to pry open, loosen, etc., with a crowbar: We had to crowbar a window to get in.

Nearby words

crow's-foot, crow's-nest, crow-bill, crow-pheasant, crowbait, crowbar, crowberry, crowboot, crowd, crowd pleaser, crowd puller

Origin of crowbar

1740–50, Americanism; crow¹ + bar¹; so called because one end was beak-shaped

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

Examples from the Web for crowbar

“One swipe with a crowbar and he would have been down,” Sasha said.
I Heard About the Latest Crazed Shooter While I Watched the World Cup with Guys He Almost Killed|Daniel Genis|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How can he have a crowbar with him when he gets to the warehouse?
How to Write Groundhog Day: 10 Rules for Screenwriters|Danny Rubin|October 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Considering you would need a crowbar to pry them apart, it's true that food and wine in France share a special bond.
All Hail the French Meal|Amelia Smith|December 6, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Abad told the police her mother had struck her with a crowbar.
The Murder Mystery Rocking Miami|Gerald Posner|February 2, 2010|DAILY BEAST

And then, do you see me walking about with a crowbar in my hand?
Victory|Joseph Conrad
How about that crowbar an' steel cable then, what you had on your sled the other night?
Smoke Bellew|Jack London
A young man wearing a windbreaker jacket and awkwardly holding a crowbar spoke first.
The Mystery of Jockey Hollow|Cleo Garis
It was as if a slab of rock fitted roughly into grooves had first been lifted, and had then fallen heavily on to the crowbar.
It Happened in Egypt|C. N. Williamson
Insert a crowbar under the glass that covers the man and lift it carefully away.
The Buttoned Sky|Geoff St. Reynard

British Dictionary definitions for crowbar

crowbar

/ (ˈkrəʊˌbɑː) /

noun

a heavy iron lever with one pointed end, and one forged into a wedge shape

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 crowbar

crowbar

1748, with bar (n.1), earlier simply crow (c.1400); so called from its "beak" or from resemblance to a crow's foot; or possibly it is from crows, from Old French cros, plural of croc "hook."

crowbar

noun

verb (used with object), crow·barred, crow·bar·ring.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of crowbar

Examples from the Web for crowbar

British Dictionary definitions for crowbar

crowbar

noun

Word Origin and History for crowbar

crowbar