crowfoot
Americannoun
-
any plant of the genus Ranunculus, especially one with divided leaves suggestive of a crow's foot; buttercup.
-
any of various other plants with leaves or other parts suggestive of a bird's foot, as certain species of the genus Geranium.
-
Nautical. an arrangement of several bridlelike ropes rove through a suspended euphroe to support the backbone of an awning at a number of points.
-
Movies, Television. a three-legged device placed under a tripod to keep the camera from slipping.
-
(on an architectural or engineering drawing) a V -shaped mark the apex of which is a reference point.
noun
-
any of several plants of the genus Ranunculus, such as R. sceleratus and R. aquatilis ( water crowfoot ) that have yellow or white flowers and divided leaves resembling the foot of a crow See also buttercup
-
any of various other plants that have leaves or other parts resembling a bird's foot
-
nautical a bridle-like arrangement of lines rove through a wooden block or attached to a ring for supporting an awning from above
-
military another name for caltrop
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of crowfoot
First recorded in 1400–50, crowfoot is from the late Middle English word crowefote. See crow 1, foot
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:
Angela has lived and worked on the river for decades and in recent years she has noticed an increase in pollution in the water and a rapid decline in species, like salmon and river crowfoot.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2022
When Ike turned again, his face told the story: his mouth turned down; his eyes, framed with crowfoot lines, squinted.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
Close by, under the left bank, a bed of crowfoot trailed downstream, the wheel-like leaves all submerged.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
![]()
The zinc crowfoot is then hung in place, occupying a position about 4 inches above the top of the copper.
From Cyclopedia of Telephony & Telegraphy Vol. 1 A General Reference Work on Telephony, etc. etc. by Miller, Kempster
Raw they ate thistle tops, pigweed, and crowfoot, with great relish.
From The Euahlayi Tribe; a study of aboriginal life in Australia by Parker, K. Langloh (Katie Langloh)
His clear brown eyes are edged with crowfeet wrinkles from squinting into the sun.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
When this is done it is not necessary to keep the shoulders back in a forced, strained position, and so make little crowfeet in the back of your gown.
From The Woman Beautiful or, The Art of Beauty Culture by Stevans, Helen Follett
The crowfeet dead-eyes are long cylindrical blocks with a number of small holes in them, to receive the legs or lines composing the crow-foot.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Belcher, Edward, Sir
Now and then there was a splash as some amphibian, more lucky than his fellows, dived through the crowfoots into the pond.
From Lives of the Fur Folk by Haviland, M. D.
Of double crowfoots there are three others, the types of which are R. bulbosus, acris, and repens.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 358, November 11, 1882 by Various
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.