# crank

Pronunciation: say "KRANGK" /kɹæŋk/

## Noun

1. A bent part of an axle or shaft, or an arm set roughly perpendicular to the end of a shaft or wheel, used to turn a mechanism or convert between rotary and reciprocating motion.
   - Simple: A bent arm on a machine that turns a wheel, or that changes back-and-forth movement into spinning.
   - _The awning rolls out with a crank handle mounted beside the patio door._
   - _In a steam engine, the piston rod pushes on a crank that turns the flywheel._
4. Short for crankshaft: the main rotating shaft of an engine, which turns the up-and-down motion of the pistons into rotation. — Clipping of crankshaft.
   - Simple: Short for crankshaft: the main turning shaft in an engine, driven by the pistons.
   - _A worn main bearing let the crank wobble, and the whole engine began to knock._
   - _The shop reground the crank and fitted new bearings before rebuilding the motor._
5. A person with strange or eccentric ideas, especially one who insists on unscientific theories. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A strange person who believes and keeps pushing odd or wrong ideas.
   - _Every few months some crank mails the physics department a manuscript disproving relativity._
   - _The comment section filled up with cranks insisting that a magnet in your pocket can cure arthritis._
8. A person who is bad-tempered or nasty. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A person who is often grumpy or mean to other people.
   - _The landlord was a crank who shouted at anyone who parked near his car._
   - _The cranks at the end of the bar complained about the music, the prices, and each other._
7. An act of turning a crank, handle, or shaft to operate a mechanism, such as a winch or an engine.
   - Simple: The act of turning a handle or shaft to make a machine move.
   - _Each crank of the winch pulled the sail a little higher up the mast._
   - _The engine coughed on the first crank and caught on the second._
9. The drug methamphetamine. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: The drug methamphetamine, which is also called meth.
   - _Deputies raided a trailer where two men had been cooking crank._
   - _He stayed up for three days on crank and then crashed hard._
10. The penis. *(slang)*
   - Simple: The penis, the male sex organ.
   - _Nobody warned him the hot tub jets would hit him right in the crank._
   - _He finally showed the doctor the rash on his crank, and it turned out to be nothing._

## Verb

2. To operate or perform at a high level of output or effort.
   - Simple: To be running or working at a high level, with lots of effort or power.
   - _Two weeks before launch, the whole team was really cranking, shipping fixes every few hours._
   - _In August the canneries crank around the clock to keep up with the harvest._
3. To turn a crank, or to make a machine or part move by turning one.
   - Simple: To turn a handle to make a machine work.
   - _On cold mornings he had to crank the tractor by hand until it coughed to life._
   - _Two deckhands cranked the winch until the anchor broke the surface._
6. Of an engine, to turn over when being started, or to make it turn over by using the starter.
   - Simple: To try to start an engine by turning the key, or of an engine, to turn when started.
   - _Don't crank the engine for more than a few seconds at a time, or you'll drain the battery._
   - _We piled into the truck, and Earl cranked it up and backed out of the driveway._

## Noun

11. A person who follows baseball as a fan. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A person who loves to watch and follow baseball.
12. A person who is sick or infirm; an invalid. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person who is sick, often for a long time.
13. A bend, turn, or winding of any kind, such as one in a passage. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A bend or turn, like one in a path or a long hallway.
14. A twist or turn in speech: wordplay that changes a word's form or meaning. *(rare)*
   - Simple: A joke made by changing how a word looks or what it means.

## Verb

15. To run in a winding course, bending, turning, and doubling back. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To move or flow along a path that twists and turns.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To behave in an irritable, unreasonable way, especially by complaining.
- (adjective) Out of the ordinary in a way that strikes people as strange or weird.
- (noun) A fit of temper or passion: a sudden outburst of anger or other strong feeling.
- (adjective) Of a ship, prone to capsizing because its cargo is badly stowed or its ballast is insufficient.
- (noun) A sudden twist or turn of the mind; a whim or passing fancy.
- (adjective) Bent, twisted, or crooked out of its proper shape, or in poor repair.
- (adjective) Full of lively spirit, or so sure of oneself as to be overconfident and opinionated.
- (adjective) Sick or unwell; not in good health.
- (adjective) Hard to do or deal with; difficult.
- (noun) An ailment, or an ache somewhere in the body.

## Origin

**Meanings 5, 8, 11–12** — English borrowed the word from krank, a form shared by Dutch and Low German. It goes back to Proto-Germanic *krangaz or *krankaz, which meant "bent" or "weak," by way of Proto-West Germanic *krank. German krank, which means "sick," and Scots crank or krank are related.
**Meanings 1–4, 6–7, 9–10, 13–15** — Old English had crancstæf, a weaving tool or crank, literally a "bent or crooked staff." Middle English shortened it to crank or cronk. The first element of crancstæf is ultimately related to the other word crank.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/crank (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).