crowbar
Americannoun
-
crowbars
plural
verb (used with object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
“There was nothing else—not even a crowbar or a pickax—to break through the concrete.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
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
She said another lock appeared to have been tampered with "using a crowbar or similar tool", but to no avail.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025
Some people confuse a tamping iron with a crowbar, but they are different tools for different jobs.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
It also said they caused "further damage" using crowbars - though this is not visible in the bodycam footage it provided.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025
They had all the equipment at the ready: crowbars, shovels, and mallets.
From Slate ● Dec. 15, 2024
During those searches, two blue crowbars, pruning shears and a cutting tool were found in a nearby pond and in the Paar River, the statement said.
From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2023
Footage from the area shows residents digging in brown earth with their bare hands, or using hoes, sticks, crowbars and other tools.
From Reuters ● Nov. 23, 2022
Miss Whitlaw had managed to salvage shovels, pickaxes, and crowbars from the various places for at least a dozen workers.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
England stemmed the haemorrhaging of points at the other end, however - perhaps helped by some understandable Springbok complacency - and briefly crowbarred their way back into the contest.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Argentina, who fought back from 21 points down to beat Scotland last weekend, crowbarred their way back into the contest though.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025
At one point, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Davy Klaassen and a returned Wayne Rooney were crowbarred into the same team.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 14, 2020
Crisp, thin French fries are crowbarred into the taco, gently punctuated with green and red salsa and the bracing freshness of cilantro and onion.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2019
Despite the cold, they sweated profusely at their tasks, stripping off over-garments as they picked and shoveled or crowbarred out the rich gravel.
From A Man to His Mate by Stockton Mulford
Sometimes it goes against Ancelotti’s own preferences but he is not just crowbarring players in any old place to get as many stars in the side as he can.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 27, 2014
That mention of the Mad Squirrels, a nickname that is always worth crowbarring in, also allows a quick nod to the quietly impressive progress that is being made in the Czech Republic.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 12, 2013
But with our third paragraph well underway and confidence about crowbarring a gag in any sentence now, let's address Barcelona's bid, believed to be worth just over £29m.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 2, 2010
“Well, in crowbarring me out of your scheme of life, if you insist on knowing,” were the words that came from the husband sitting so close beside me.
From The Prairie Child by Ward. E. F. (Edmund Franklin)
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
