What does "crook" mean?
A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.
Crook
/kɹʊk/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.
- Grammar: crook is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bend, twist, aberrancy, aberration.
- Useful contrasts: align, angel, honest person.
- Usage evidence: Sorry I didn't catch up after, but James was right crook so we left early.
How to use "crook"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "crook" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "crook" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "crook" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "crook" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "crook" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bend" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "crook", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.
"She held the baby in the crook of her arm."
- 2 a long staff with one end being hook shaped wordnet
- 3 A bending of the knee; a genuflection.
- 4 someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime wordnet
- 5 A bent or curved part; a curving piece or portion (of anything).
"the crook of a cane"
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 a circular segment of a curve wordnet
- 7 A lock or curl of hair. obsolete
- 8 A support beam consisting of a post with a cross-beam resting upon it; a bracket or truss consisting of a vertical piece, a horizontal piece, and a strut. obsolete
- 9 A specialized staff with a semi-circular bend (a "hook") at one end used by shepherds to control their herds.
"Even though I walk through a / valley dark as death / I fear no evil, for thou art with me, / thy staff and thy crook are my / comfort."
- 10 A bishop's standard staff of office.
- 11 An artifice; a trick; a contrivance.
"for all your brags, hooks, and crooks"
- 12 A person who steals, lies, cheats or does other dishonest or illegal things; a criminal.
"In these early days of silent pictures, the accent was chiefly on thrills and danger as provided by supposedly unstoppable locomotives with crooks or maniacs on the footplate."
- 13 A pothook.
- 14 A small tube, usually curved, applied to a trumpet, horn, etc., to change its pitch or key.
Verb
- 1 To bend, or form into a hook. transitive
"He crooked his finger toward me."
- 2 bend or cause to bend wordnet
- 3 To become bent or hooked. intransitive
- 4 To turn from the path of rectitude; to pervert; to misapply; to twist.
"For the foundation of youthe well ſet (as Plato doth ſaye) the whole bodye of the common wealthe ſhall flouriſhe thereafter. If the younge tree growe croked, when it is oulde, a man ſhall rather breake it than ſtreight it. And I thincke there is no one thinge that crokes youthe more then ſuch unlawful games."
Adjective
- 1 Bad, unsatisfactory, not up to standard. Australia, New-Zealand, slang
"That work you did on my car is crook, mate."
- 2 Ill, sick. Australia, New-Zealand, slang
"I′m feeling a bit crook."
- 3 Annoyed, angry; upset. Australia, New-Zealand, slang
"be crook at/about; go crook at"
Proper Noun
- 1 A town (unparished) in County Durham, England (OS grid ref NZ1635).
- 2 A village and civil parish (served by Crook and Winster Parish Council) in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, previously in South Lakeland district (OS grid ref SD4695).
- 3 A statutory town in Logan County, Colorado, United States, named after George Crook.
- 4 An unincorporated community in Osage County, Missouri, United States, so named because of a local merchant's business practices (thus being derived from crook (thief)).
- 5 A surname.
Example
"Sorry I didn't catch up after, but James was right crook so we left early."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "crook"?
Common synonyms include: bend, twist, aberrancy, aberration, advocate, alpenstock.
How do you use "crook" in a sentence?
Sorry I didn't catch up after, but James was right crook so we left early.
How do you pronounce "crook"?
Pronounced /kɹʊk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English croke, crok, from Old English *crōc (“hook, bend, crook”), from Proto-West Germanic *krōk, from Proto-Germanic *krōkaz (“bend, hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *greg- (“tracery, basket, bend”). Cognate with Dutch kreuk (“a bend, fold, wrinkle”), Middle Low German kroke, krake (“fold, wrinkle”), Danish krog (“crook, hook”), Swedish krok (“crook, hook”), Icelandic krókur (“hook”). Compare typologically Czech křivák (< křivý < Proto-Slavic *krivъ, whence also *krivьda).
Etymology 2
From Middle English crooken, croken, crokien, from Old English *crōcian, from Proto-West Germanic *krōkōn (“to bend, wrinkle”), from the noun (see above). Cognate with Dutch kreuken (“to crease, rumple”), German Low German kröken (“to bend, offend, suppress”).
Etymology 3
From crooked (“dishonestly come by”).
Etymology 4
* The English surname is derived from the noun crook (“bend, hook”). * The places in Durham and Cumbria are of Brythonic origin, from crug (“hill, mound”).