Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

crank

/kɹæːnk/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.61 in modern English

Syllables: crank
IPA: /kɹæːnk/

11

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Hard; difficult.

adj

Strange; weird; odd.

Informal

adj

Bent; twisted; crooked; distorted; out of repair.

adj

adj

Liable to capsize because of poorly stowed cargo or insufficient ballast.

adj

Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated.

noun

An ailment, ache.

noun

An ill-tempered or nasty person.

Informal

Example Sentences

"This ship is so crank and walty I fear our grave she will be!"
"The stowage was clumsily done, and the vessel consequently crank."
"He who was a little before bedred[…]was now cranke and lustie."
"If you strong electioners did not think you were among the elect, you would not be so crank about it."
"Billy-Bob is a nasty old crank! He chased my cat away."
"Violent of temper; subject to sudden cranks."

Etymology

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”).

Origin

Source language: Dutch

Word Breakdown

Root: -, krank, *krank, *krangaz, crank, crancstæf

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /kɹæːnk/
British English: /kɹænk/

Usage

Inflected Forms

cranker (comparative) crankest (superlative) cranks (plural) cranks (present, singular) cranking (participle, present) cranked (participle, past) cranked (past) crunk (dialectal, participle) crunk (dialectal, past)

Derived Forms

crankish crankism crankness cranksome bellcrank crankbait crankcase crankery crankhandle crankle crankless crankman

Phrases

crank letter crank stock yank one's crank yank someone's crank bell crank crank angle crank angle degree crank arm

Synonyms

infirm kook odd duck weirdo crackpot bizarro coot crank eccentric freak glaik hard case

Rhymes With

thank bank frank tank rank blank drank hank prank sank flank plank

Questions

How do you pronounce crank?: The recorded pronunciation is /kɹæːnk/.
What does crank mean?: Hard; difficult.
Where does crank come from?: It is traced to Dutch.

How to pronounce crank

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “crank”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/kɹæːnk/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “crank”.
Repeat and practice — Say “crank” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.