Definition of Crank

1. Noun. A bad-tempered person.

Exact synonyms: Churl, Crosspatch, Grouch, Grump
Generic synonyms: Disagreeable Person, Unpleasant Person
Specialized synonyms: Crab, Crabby Person, Fire-eater, Hothead, Misanthrope, Misanthropist
Derivative terms: Cranky, Grouch, Grouchy, Grumpy

2. Verb. Travel along a zigzag path. "They crank up the hill"; "The river zigzags through the countryside"
Exact synonyms: Zigzag
Generic synonyms: Go, Locomote, Move, Travel
Entails: Turn
Derivative terms: Zigzag

3. Adjective. (used of boats) inclined to heel over easily under sail.
Exact synonyms: Cranky, Tender, Tippy
Category relationships: Boat
Similar to: Unstable

4. Noun. A whimsically eccentric person.
Exact synonyms: Crackpot, Fruitcake, Nut, Nut Case, Screwball
Generic synonyms: Eccentric, Eccentric Person, Flake, Geek, Oddball
Derivative terms: Screwball

5. Verb. Start by cranking. "These cars won't crank "; "Crank up the engine"
Exact synonyms: Crank Up
Generic synonyms: Start, Start Up

6. Noun. 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.

7. Verb. Rotate with a crank.
Exact synonyms: Crank Up
Generic synonyms: Circumvolve, Rotate

8. Noun. A hand tool consisting of a rotating shaft with parallel handle.
Exact synonyms: Starter
Specialized synonyms: Crank Handle, Starting Handle
Generic synonyms: Hand Tool

9. Verb. Fasten with a crank.
Generic synonyms: Fasten, Fix, Secure

10. Verb. Bend into the shape of a crank.
Generic synonyms: Bend, Deform, Flex, Turn, Twist

Definition of Crank

1. n. A bent portion of an axle, or shaft, or an arm keyed at right angles to the end of a shaft, by which motion is imparted to or received from it; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. See Bell crank.

2. a. Sick; infirm.

3. v. i. To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn.

Definition of Crank

1. Adjective. (slang) Strange, weird, odd. ¹

2. Noun. A bent piece of an axle, or shaft, or an arm attached at right angles to the end of a shaft or wheel, used to impart a circular action to a wheel or other mechanical device and create power; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. ¹

3. Noun. The act of converting power into motion, by turning a crankshaft. ¹

4. Noun. Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage. ¹

5. Noun. (informal) An ill-tempered or nasty person ¹

6. Noun. (US slang) methamphetamine. ¹

7. Noun. (slang British dated in US) A person who is considered strange or odd by others. They may behave in unconventional ways. ¹

8. Noun. (rare) A twist or turn in speech; a conceit consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word. ¹

9. Noun. (nautical) A ship which, because of insufficient or poorly stowed ballast or cargo, is in danger of overturning. ¹

10. Verb. To turn a '''crank'''. ¹

11. Verb. To cause to spin via other means, as though turned by a crank. ¹

12. Verb. To act in a cranky manner; to behave unreasonably and irritably, especially through complaining. ¹

13. Verb. To produce or present a desired object. ¹

14. Verb. (intransitive dated) To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Crank

1. lively [adj CRANKER, CRANKEST] / to start manually [v -ED, -ING, -S] - See also: lively

Lexicographical Neighbors of Crank

craniostenosis
craniostosis
craniosynostoses
craniosynostosis
craniotabes
craniotome
craniotomies
craniotomy
craniotonoscopy
craniotrypesis
craniotympanic
cranium
cranium cerebrale
cranium viscerale
craniums
crank (current term)
crank angle
crank angle degree
crank angle degrees
crank angles
crank call
crank caller
crank handle
crank letter
crank out
crank science
crank up
crank uped
crankarm
crankarms

Literary usage of Crank

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline Engine Encyclopedia by Andrew Lee Dyke (1920)
"The crank shaft throw changes the reciprocating motion of the pisto» to the ... The crank pin must be rigidly attached to the crank shaft, and to secure ..."

2. Popular Lectures on Science and Art: Delivered in the Principal Cities and by Dionysius Lardner (1856)
"In the various positions which the crank and connecting-rod assume throughout a complete revolution, there are two in which the moving power loses all ..."

3. The Mechanical Engineering of Steam Power Plants by Frederick Remsen Hutton (1908)
"The second method is to shrink the crank upon the pin by the method described in paragraf ... In some forms of disk-crank the pin may be held with a key. ..."

4. Theory and Calculation of Alternating Current Phenomena by Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1916)
"So the crank diagram, Fig. 47, is the image of the polar diagram, Fig. 46. In symbolic representation, based upon the crank diagram, the impedance was ..."

5. Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary: A Description of Tools, Instruments by Edward Henry Knight (1876)
"crank—ax'le. 1. An axle bent down between the wheels, un order to lower the bed of the wagon and make loading more easy. It has been introduced in England ..."

6. Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline Engine Encyclopedia by Andrew Lee Dyke (1920)
"The crank shaft throw changes the reciprocating motion of the pisto» to the ... The crank pin must be rigidly attached to the crank shaft, and to secure ..."

7. Popular Lectures on Science and Art: Delivered in the Principal Cities and by Dionysius Lardner (1856)
"In the various positions which the crank and connecting-rod assume throughout a complete revolution, there are two in which the moving power loses all ..."

8. The Mechanical Engineering of Steam Power Plants by Frederick Remsen Hutton (1908)
"The second method is to shrink the crank upon the pin by the method described in paragraf ... In some forms of disk-crank the pin may be held with a key. ..."

9. Theory and Calculation of Alternating Current Phenomena by Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1916)
"So the crank diagram, Fig. 47, is the image of the polar diagram, Fig. 46. In symbolic representation, based upon the crank diagram, the impedance was ..."

10. Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary: A Description of Tools, Instruments by Edward Henry Knight (1876)
"crank—ax'le. 1. An axle bent down between the wheels, un order to lower the bed of the wagon and make loading more easy. It has been introduced in England ..."

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