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Synonyms

crowbar

American  
[kroh-bahr] / ˈkroʊˌbɑr /

noun

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

verb (used with object)

crowbarred, crowbarring

  1. to pry open, loosen, etc., with a crowbar.

    We had to crowbar a window to get in.
crowbar British  
/ ˈkrəʊˌbɑː /

noun

  1. 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

Etymology

Origin of crowbar

1740–50, crow 1 + bar 1; so called because one end was beak-shaped

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.

Armed with nothing but a crowbar and shovel in the hills of Somaliland, Ahmed Ibrahim hacks away at rocks where he and fellow miners have already found tonnes of lithium.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

If our hearts weren’t already open, they’ve just been forced ajar with a rusty, emotional crowbar.

From Salon • Nov. 30, 2025

However, McCullum said England will not "crowbar" Bethell into the team.

From BBC • Jul. 7, 2025

With a crowbar I could have reached down and touched them, felt the pulse of the world’s information traveling through my fingertips.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025

If we thrust a crowbar between the spokes of a wheel it makes no difference where we do it, the wheel stops turning.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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.