creak

USKREEK/kɹik/

Noun pluralcreaks

4 meanings of creak

1
verbintransitive
To make a prolonged, sharp grating or squeaking sound, as when hard surfaces rub against each other.
The gate creaks loudly every time the wind pushes it open.
Old ships creak as their timbers shift in heavy seas.
Similarsqueak, groan, grate, rasp
2
nouncountable
The sharp grating or squeaking sound made by something that creaks.
A sudden creak from the attic made everyone freeze.
The creaks of the old house kept her awake all night.
Similarsqueak, groan, grating, screech
3
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To show signs of strain or decline, as if weakened by age or by demands that are too heavy to bear.
The economy is creaking under the weight of mounting debt.
Aging institutions creak whenever they are forced to face rapid change.
Similarstrain, groan, falter, struggle
4
verbtransitive
To cause something to make a creaking sound.
She creaked the chair backward, testing how much weight it could hold.
The sailors creak the rigging as they haul the heavy ropes overhead.
Similarsqueak

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English creken or criken, a metathesis of Old English cearcian ('to chatter, creak, crash, gnash'), which goes back through Proto-West Germanic *krakōn and Proto-Germanic *krakōną to the Proto-Indo-European root *gerh₂- ('to make a sound, cry hoarsely'). It is ultimately of imitative origin, like the sound it describes.