Definitions for crutch
krʌtʃcrutch

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. crutchnoun

   a wooden or metal staff that fits under the armpit and reaches to the ground; used by disabled person while walking

2. crutchnoun

   anything that serves as an expedient

   "he uses drugs as a psychological crutch"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. crutchnoun

   A device to assist in motion as a cane, especially one that provides support under the arm to reduce weight on a leg.

   He walked on crutches for a month until the cast was removed from his leg.

2. crutchnoun

   Something that supports, often used negatively to indicate that it is not needed and causes an unhealthful dependency; a prop

   Alcohol became a crutch to help him through the long nights; eventually it killed him.

3. crutchnoun

   A crotch; the area of body where the legs fork from the trunk.

4. crutchverb

   To support on crutches; to prop up.

   Two fools that crutch their feeble sense on verse. uE000210057uE001 Dryden.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. CRUTCHnoun

   A support used by cripples.

   Etymology: croccia, Ital. croce, Fr. crucke, Germ.

   Ah, thus king Henry throws away his crutch,
   Before his legs be firm to bear his body. William Shakespeare, Hen. VI.

   Beauty doth varnish age, as if new born,
   And gives the crutch the cradle’s infancy. William Shakespeare.

   Hence, therefore, thou nice crutch:
   A scaly gauntlet now, with joints of steel,
   Must glove this hand. William Shakespeare, Henry IV. p. ii.

   On these new crutches let them learn to walk. John Dryden, Geor.

   This fair defect, this helpless aid call’d wife,
   The bending crutch of a decrepit life. Dryden.

   At best a crutch that lifts the weak along,
   Supports the feeble, but retards the strong. Smith.

   The dumb shall sing, the lame his crutch forego,
   And leap exulting like the bounding roe. Alexander Pope, Messiah.

2. To Crutchverb

   To support on crutches as a cripple.

   Etymology: from crutch.

   I hasten Og and Doeg to rehearse,
   Two fools that crutch their feeble sense on verse. Dryden.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Crutch

   A crutch is a mobility aid that transfers weight from the legs to the upper body. It is often used by people who cannot use their legs to support their weight, for reasons ranging from short-term injuries to lifelong disabilities.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. crutch

   A crutch is a support typically consisting of a metal or wooden rod with a padded area at the top that fits under the armpit and a grip below, used by a person with an injury or disability to assist in walking or moving around. In a broader sense, crutch can also refer to anything that serves as a temporary support or aid.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Crutchnoun

   a staff with a crosspiece at the head, to be placed under the arm or shoulder, to support the lame or infirm in walking

2. Crutchnoun

   a form of pommel for a woman's saddle, consisting of a forked rest to hold the leg of the rider

3. Crutchnoun

   a knee, or piece of knee timber

4. Crutchnoun

   a forked stanchion or post; a crotch. See Crotch

5. Crutchverb

   to support on crutches; to prop up

6. Etymology: [OE. crucche, AS. crycc, cricc; akin to D. kruk, G. krcke, Dan. krykke, Sw. krycka, and to E. crook. See Crook, and cf. Cricket a low stool.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Crutch

   A crutch is a mobility aid that transfers weight from the legs to the upper body. It is often used for people who cannot use their legs to support their weight, for reasons ranging from short-term injuries to life-long disabilities.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Crutch

   kruch, n. a staff with a cross-piece at the head to place under the arm of a lame person: any support like a crutch.—v.t. to support: to prop.—v.i. to go on crutches.—adj. Crutched, marked by the sign of or wearing a cross.—n.pl. Crutched′-frī′ars, an order of friars so called from the sign of the cross which they wore—Crouched- or Crossed-friars. [From root of Crook; perh. modified by L. crux.]

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. crutch

   A support fixed upon the taffrail for the main boom of a sloop, brig, cutter, &c., and a chock for the driver-boom of a ship when their respective sails are furled. Also, crooked timber inside the after-peak of a vessel, for securing the heels of the cant or half-timbers: they are fayed and bolted on the foot-waling. Also, stanchions of wood or iron whose upper parts are forked to receive masts, yards, and other spars, and which are fixed along the sides and gangways. Crutches are used instead of rowlocks, and also on the sides of large boats to support the oars and spars.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. CRUTCH

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Crutch is ranked #78040 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Crutch surname appeared 245 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Crutch.
   
   80% or 196 total occurrences were Black.
   11.8% or 29 total occurrences were White.
   3.6% or 9 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   3.2% or 8 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

1. • Expedient
   • Staff

How to pronounce crutch?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say crutch in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of crutch in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of crutch in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of crutch in a Sentence

1. John F. Kennedy:

   We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch.

2. Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love (1972):

   History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.

3. James Baldwin:

   Nothing is more desirable than to be released from an affliction, but nothing is more frightening than to be divested of a crutch.

4. Tim Boyle:

   Obviously, we didn't have a few guys go, but we can't lean on that as a crutch, we should've done a better job in the first half of executing, there's no way of getting around that. I'm not extremely pleased with how we played in that first group.

5. Daniel Lubetzky:

   Your social mission can’t be a crutch.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=crutch
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Crutch
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=crutch
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crutch
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crutch
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=crutch
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=crutch
9. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=crutch
10. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
    https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html