crank
IPA: krˈæŋk
noun
- A bent piece of an axle or shaft, or an attached arm perpendicular, or nearly so, to the end of a shaft or wheel, used to impart a rotation to a wheel or other mechanical device; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion.
- The act of converting power into motion, by turning a crankshaft.
- (archaic) Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage.
- (informal) An ill-tempered or nasty person.
- A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim;
- a fit of temper or passion.
- (informal, Britain, dated in US) A person who is considered strange or odd by others. They may behave in unconventional ways.
- (archaic, baseball, slang, 1800s) A baseball fan.
- (informal) An amateur in science or other technical subjects who persistently advocates flawed theories
- (US, slang) Synonym of methamphetamine.
- (rare) A twist or turn in speech; word play consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word.
- (obsolete) A sick person; an invalid.
- (slang) The penis.
- A surname.
- Clipping of crankshaft. [A rotating shaft that drives (or is driven by) a crank.]
verb
- (transitive) To turn by means of a crank.
- (intransitive) To turn a crank.
- (intransitive, of a crank or similar) To turn.
- (transitive) To cause to spin via other means, as though turned by a crank.
- (intransitive) To act in a cranky manner; to behave unreasonably and irritably, especially through complaining.
- (intransitive) To be running at a high level of output or effort.
- (intransitive, dated) To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn.
adjective
- (slang) Strange, weird, odd.
- Sick; unwell.
- (nautical, of a ship) Liable to capsize because of poorly stowed cargo or insufficient ballast.
- Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated.
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Examples of "crank" in Sentences
- Call a spade a spade, and a crank a crank.
- It is the crank theory of a crank contributor.
- GOP and big business once again crank up the Lie Machine.
- In operation, the crank is mated with a shaft to rotate the pinion.
- Slow cranking the camera and sound effects can dramatize the stunt.
- Crank web sites are not a source and this is not a crank or cult topic.
- A lubrication oil is supplied to the sliding parts in the crank chamber.
- Hand cranks provide greater portability at the cost of greater exertion.
- The mentor has the power to decide whether the objector is a lone crank.
- But the mentor has the power to decide whether the objector is a lone crank.
- A sprocket wheel is mounted between one of the crank arms and the hub housing.
- I also enjoy fishin crank baits as opposed to soft plastics as I feel I have more control over the action.
- And so it goes with our northern neighbor, whose governor is giving the term "crank" a good name by comparison.
- I know I am what they call a crank; doctors will tell you that you can't be cured of a bad illness, and be the same man again.
- What will work for sliding wood windows as well as those which open with a crank is floor wax (an extremely thin layer) but NOT because it acts as a lubricant.
- I served my time, and I think it crazed me a bit though it was only a month; at any rate, I was what they call a crank when I came out, which I wasn't when I went in.
- * The effect of this little bit of science may be thus stated -- Men for two years had been punished as refractory for not making all day two thousand revolutions per hour of a 15 lb. crank, when all the while it was a _45 lb. crank_ they had been vainly struggling against all day.