What does "crutch" mean?
A device to assist in motion as a cane, especially one that provides support under the arm to reduce weight on a leg.
Crutch
/kɹʌt͡ʃ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A device to assist in motion as a cane, especially one that provides support under the arm to reduce weight on a leg.
- Grammar: crutch is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: advocate, aid, alpenstock, arm.
- Useful contrasts: address root cause, autonomy, collapse.
- Usage evidence: Often she was very sad and lonely, and it happened that one day while she was seated at the window, letting salt tears drop on her work, an old woman, a kind, homely-looking old body, stepped up to the window, and, leaning upon her crutch, addressed the Queen in friendly, flattering tones.
How to use "crutch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "crutch" 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 "crutch" 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 "crutch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "crutch" 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 "crutch" is acting as 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 "advocate" 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 "crutch", 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 device to assist in motion as a cane, especially one that provides support under the arm to reduce weight on a leg.
"He walked on crutches for a month until the cast was removed from his leg."
- 2 anything that serves as an expedient wordnet
- 3 Something or someone that supports, often used negatively to indicate that it is not needed and causes an unhealthful dependency; a prop
"Alcohol became a crutch to help him through the long nights; eventually it killed him."
- 4 a wooden or metal staff that fits under the armpit and reaches to the ground; used by disabled person while walking wordnet
- 5 A crotch; the area of body where the legs fork from the trunk.
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A form of pommel for a woman's saddle, consisting of a forked rest to hold the leg of the rider.
- 7 A knee, or piece of knee timber.
- 8 A forked stanchion or post; a crotch.
- 9 An improvised device, usually made from a piece of cardboard, to hold the last end of a joint. slang
Verb
- 1 To support on crutches; to prop up. transitive
"[I'll] haſten Og and Doeg to rehearſe, / Two Fools that Crutch their Feeble Senſe on Verſe; / Who by my Muſe to all ſucceeding times, / Shall live in ſpight of their own Dogrell Rhimes."
- 2 To move on crutches. intransitive
- 3 To shear the hindquarters of a sheep; to dag. transitive
"After learning how to crutch at 13, he could dag 400 sheep in a day by the spring of 1965 and earned himself more than just a bit of pocket money."
- 4 to stir with a crutch. transitive
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Often she was very sad and lonely, and it happened that one day while she was seated at the window, letting salt tears drop on her work, an old woman, a kind, homely-looking old body, stepped up to the window, and, leaning upon her crutch, addressed the Queen in friendly, flattering tones."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "crutch"?
Common synonyms include: advocate, aid, alpenstock, arm, athletic supporter, back.
How do you use "crutch" in a sentence?
Often she was very sad and lonely, and it happened that one day while she was seated at the window, letting salt tears drop on her work, an old woman, a kind, homely-looking old body, stepped up to the window, and, leaning upon her crutch, addressed the Queen in friendly, flattering tones.
How do you pronounce "crutch"?
Pronounced /kɹʌt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
From Middle English crucche, from Old English cryċċ (“crutch, staff”), from Proto-West Germanic *krukkju, from Proto-Germanic *krukjō (“crutch, staff”), from Proto-Indo-European *grewg- (“wrinkle, bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Scots curche, crutch (“crutch, stilts”), Dutch kruk (“crutch”), Low German krukke, Krück (“crutch”), German Krücke (“crutch”), Swedish krycka (“crutch”). Latin crucia, crucca, croccia, crocia (“crutch”), and its descendants are ultimately from the Germanic.