Definitions for crank
kræŋkcrank

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. grouch, grump, crank, churl, crosspatch(noun)

   a bad-tempered person

2. crackpot, crank, nut, nut case, fruitcake, screwball(noun)

   a whimsically eccentric person

3. methamphetamine, methamphetamine hydrochloride, Methedrine, meth, deoxyephedrine, chalk, chicken feed, crank, glass, ice, shabu, trash(noun)

   an amphetamine derivative (trade name Methedrine) used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride; used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant

4. crank, starter(adj)

   a hand tool consisting of a rotating shaft with parallel handle

5. crank, cranky, tender, tippy(verb)

   (used of boats) inclined to heel over easily under sail

6. zigzag, crank(verb)

   travel along a zigzag path

   "The river zigzags through the countryside"

7. crank, crank up(verb)

   start by cranking

   "crank up the engine"

8. crank, crank up(verb)

   rotate with a crank

9. crank(verb)

   fasten with a crank

10. crank(verb)

    bend into the shape of a crank

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. crank(Noun)

   A bent piece of an axle, or shaft, or an arm attached at right angles to the end of a shaft or wheel, used to impart a circular action to a wheel or other mechanical device and create power; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion.

   Use the crank on the motorcycle and go for a ride.

2. crank(Noun)

   The act of converting power into motion, by turning a crankshaft.

   Yes, a crank was all it needed to start.

3. crank(Noun)

   Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage.

4. crank(Noun)

   An ill-tempered or nasty person

   Billy-Bob is a nasty, old crank! He chased my cat away.

5. crank(Noun)

   methamphetamine.

   Danny got abscesses from shooting all that bathtub crank.

6. crank(Noun)

   A person who is considered strange or odd by others. They may behave in unconventional ways.

   John is a crank because he talks to himself.

7. crank(Noun)

   A twist or turn in speech; a conceit consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word.

8. crank(Noun)

   A ship which, because of insufficient or poorly stowed ballast or cargo, is in danger of overturning.

9. crank(Verb)

   To turn a crank.

10. crank(Verb)

    To cause to spin via other means, as though turned by a crank.

    I turn the key and crank the engine; yet it doesn't turn over

11. crank(Verb)

    To act in a cranky manner; to behave unreasonably and irritably, especially through complaining.

    Quit cranking about your spilt milk!

12. crank(Verb)

    To produce or present a desired object.

    Crank out the beer!

13. crank(Verb)

    To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn.

14. crank(Adjective)

    Strange, weird, odd.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Crank(noun)

   a bent portion of an axle, or shaft, or an arm keyed at right angles to the end of a shaft, by which motion is imparted to or received from it; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. See Bell crank

2. Crank(noun)

   any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage

3. Crank(noun)

   a twist or turn in speech; a conceit consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word

4. Crank(noun)

   a twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim; crotchet; also, a fit of temper or passion

5. Crank(noun)

   a person full of crotchets; one given to fantastic or impracticable projects; one whose judgment is perverted in respect to a particular matter

6. Crank(noun)

   a sick person; an invalid

7. Crank(noun)

   sick; infirm

8. Crank(noun)

   liable to careen or be overset, as a ship when she is too narrow, or has not sufficient ballast, or is loaded too high, to carry full sail

9. Crank(noun)

   full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated

10. Crank(noun)

    to run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn

Origin: [See Crank, n.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Crank

   Crank is a 2006 American action film written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor and starring Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Efren Ramirez and Dwight Yoakam. The plot centers on a British hitman in Los Angeles named Chev Chelios who is poisoned and must keep his adrenaline flowing constantly in order to keep himself alive, and in so doing causes mayhem, gets into fights with other gangsters, has altercations with the police, and takes numerous drugs. The title of the film comes from the slang word for methamphetamine. Produced and distributed by Lakeshore Entertainment and Lions Gate Films, it was released in the United States on September 1, 2006 in 2,515 theaters. The film was generally well received.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Crank

   krangk, n. a crook or bend: a conceit in speech: a whim: (mach.) a lever or arm on a shaft, driven by hand or by a connecting-rod, its object being to convert reciprocating motion into rotary motion.—v.i. to move in a zizag manner.—v.t. to shape like a crank: to provide with a crank.—adj. crooked: crabbed: loose or slack.—adv. Crank′ily.—n. Crank′iness.—adj. Crank′y, crooked: infirm: full of whims: cross. [M. E. kranke—A.S. crincan, to yield; cf. Ger. krank.]

2. Crank

   krangk, adj. brisk: merry. [Origin unknown.]

3. Crank

   krangk, Crank-sided, krangk-sī′ded, adj. (naut.) liable to be upset—n. Crank′ness, liability to be upset. [Ety. uncertain.]

The New Hacker's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. crank

   [from automotive slang] Verb used to describe the performance of a machine, especially sustained performance. “This box cranks (or, cranks at) about 6 megaflops, with a burst mode of twice that on vectorized operations.”

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. crank

   A vessel, by her construction or her stowage, inclined to lean over a great deal, or from insufficient ballast or cargo incapable of carrying sail, without danger of overturning. The opposite term is stiff, or the quality of standing well up to her canvas.--Cranky expresses a foolish capriciousness. Ships built too deep in proportion to their breadth are notoriously crank.--Crank by the ground, is a ship whose floor is so narrow that she cannot be brought on the ground without danger.

Etymology and Origins(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Crank

   One whose notions of things are angular, eccentric, or crooked. His ideas do not run in a straight line.

How to pronounce crank?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say crank in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of crank in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of crank in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of crank in a Sentence

1. Cyril Connolly:

   I review novels to make money, because it is easier for a sluggard to write an article a fortnight than a book a year, because the writer is soothed by the opiate of action, the crank by posing as a good journalist, and having an air hole. I dislike it. I do it and I am always resolving to give it up.

2. Mark Twain:

   A man with a new idea is a crank -- until the idea succeeds.

3. Greg McKenna:

   The Russians have always struck me as production cut tourists keen to get off the boat and crank up production as soon as inventories were stabilized and prices once again elevated ... That possibility is top of the mind for traders and as a result oil prices are slipping.

4. Heywood:

   Just as every conviction begins as a whim so does every emancipator serve his apprenticeship as a crank. A fanatic is a great leader who is just entering the room.

5. Stefan Koopman:

   The proposed U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports would certainly disrupt the internationally sliced-up value chains. It is well-known that large U.S. high-tech corporates and retailers use relatively cheap Chinese labor to assemble their products and gross trade flows analyses may underestimate the disruptive impact, raising tariffs on final and intermediate products that are shipped to the U.S. will crank up domestic prices for U.S. consumers and producers. As such, if these tariffs come through, it would provide another shock to the stock market and hurt producer and consumer confidence.

Images & Illustrations of crank

Popularity rank by frequency of use