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Added 9 October 2026

crank

/kɹænk/ noun

Categories: PeopleThingsRare Words

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about crank at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A bad-tempered person.
  2. A whimsically eccentric person.
  3. An amphetamine derivative (trade name Methedrine) used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride; used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant.

verb

  1. Travel along a zigzag path.
    The river zigzags through the countryside
  2. Start by cranking.
    crank up the engine
  3. Rotate with a crank.

adjective

  1. (used of boats) inclined to heel over easily under sail.

Origin

From Dutch or Low German krank, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *krank, from Proto-Germanic *krangaz, *krankaz (“bent; weak”). Cognate with Scots crank, krank, German krank (“sick”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Related Words: crackpotnutcaseunstablecrankytendercrosspatchgrumpgrouchtippychurlzigzag

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