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Crank

 - 10 dictionary results

crank

1  [krangk]
Use Crank in a Sentence
–noun
1. Machinery. any of several types of arms or levers for imparting rotary or oscillatory motion to a rotating shaft, one end of the crank being fixed to the shaft and the other end receiving reciprocating motion from a hand, connecting rod, etc.
2. Informal. an ill-tempered, grouchy person.
3. an unbalanced person who is overzealous in the advocacy of a private cause.
4. an eccentric or whimsical notion.
5. a strikingly clever turn of speech or play on words.
6. Archaic. a bend; turn.
7. Slang. the nasal decongestant propylhexedrine, used illicitly for its euphoric effects.
8. Automotive Slang. a crankshaft.
–verb (used with object)
9. to bend into or make in the shape of a crank.
10. to furnish with a crank.
11. Machinery. to rotate (a shaft) by means of a crank.
12. to start (an internal-combustion engine) by turning the crankshaft manually or by means of a small motor.
13. to start the engine of (a motor vehicle) by turning the crankshaft manually.
–verb (used without object)
14. to turn a crank, as in starting an automobile engine.
15. Obsolete. to turn and twist; zigzag.
–adjective
16. unstable; shaky; unsteady.
17. of, pertaining to, or by an unbalanced or overzealous person: a crank phone call; crank mail.
18. British Dialect. cranky 1 (def. 5).
—Verb phrases
19. crank down, to cause to diminish or terminate: the president's efforts to crank down inflation.
20. crank in or into, to incorporate as an integral part: Overhead is cranked into the retail cost.
21. crank out, to make or produce in a mass-production, effortless, or mechanical way: She's able to crank out one best-selling novel after another.
22. crank up, Informal.
a. to get started or ready: The theater season is cranking up with four benefit performances.
b. to stimulate, activate, or produce: to crank up enthusiasm for a new product.
c. to increase one's efforts, output, etc.: Industry began to crank up after the new tax incentives became law.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME cranke, OE cranc-, in crancstǣf crank (see staff 1 )

Related forms:
crankless, adjective

crank

2  [krangk]
–adjective Nautical.
1. Also, cranky. having a tendency to roll easily, as a boat or ship; tender (opposed to stiff ).
–noun
2. a crank vessel.
Origin:
1690–1700; prob. to be identified with crank 1 , but sense developement unclear; cf. crank-sided

crank

3  [krangk]
–adjective British Dialect.
lively; high-spirited.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME cranke, of obscure orig.

Related forms:
crankly, adverb
crankness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Crank
crank 1   (krāngk)   
n.  

  1. A device for transmitting rotary motion, consisting of a handle or arm attached at right angles to a shaft.

  2. A clever turn of speech; a verbal conceit: quips and cranks.

  3. A peculiar or eccentric idea or action.

  4. Informal

    1. A grouchy person.

    2. An eccentric person, especially one who is unduly zealous.

  5. Slang Methamphetamine.

v.   cranked, crank·ing, cranks

v.   tr.

    1. To start or operate (an engine, for example) by or as if by turning a handle.

    2. To move or operate (a window, for example) by or as if by turning a handle.

  2. To make into the shape of a crank; bend.

  3. To provide with a handle that is used in turning.

v.   intr.

  1. To turn a handle.

  2. To wind in a zigzagging course.

adj.  Of, being, or produced by an eccentric person: a crank letter; a crank phone call.
Phrasal Verb(s):
crank outTo produce, especially mechanically and rapidly: cranks out memo after memo.
crank up

  1. To cause to start or get started as if by turning a crank: cranked up a massive publicity campaign.

  2. To cause to intensify, as in volume or force: cranks up the sound on the stereo.


[Middle English, from Old English cranc- (as in crancstæf, weaving implement).]
crank 2   (krāngk)   
adj.   Nautical
Liable to capsize; unstable.

[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
crank

  1. n.
    a crackpot; a bothersome person with a bogus message. : A crank called with a bomb threat.
  2. mod.
    bogus; false; phony. : We had four crank calls threatening to blow up the Eiffel tower.
  3. n.
    a crabby person. (Collegiate.) : Why are you such a crank? Is something wrong in your life?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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crank (sth)

  1. tv.
    to start something up. (Probably alludes to the old style car that had to be started with a crank.) : I'll go out and crank the car up so it can warm up.
  2. tv.
    to increase the volume of an electronic device. : Kelly cranked up his stereo until we were nearly deafened.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

crank 
O.E. cranc- preserved only in crancstæf "a weaver's instrument," from P.Gmc. base *krank-, and related to crincan "to bend, yield." Eng. retains the literal sense of the ancient root, while Ger. and Du. krank "sick," formerly "weak, small," is a figurative use. The sense of "an eccentric person," especially one who is irrationally fixated, is first recorded 1833, said to be from the crank of a barrel organ, which makes it play the same tune over and over, but more likely a back-formation from cranky "cross-tempered, irritable" (1821), and evolving from earlier senses of "a twist or fanciful turn of speech" (1594) or "inaccessible hole or crevice" (1562). Popularized 1881 when it was applied to Horace Greeley during Guiteau's trial. The verb meaning "turning a crank" is first attested 1908, with reference to automobile engines.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: crank
Pronunciation: 'kra[ng]k
Function: noun
: CRYSTAL 2
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Computing Dictionary

crank
(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 vectorised operations."
[The Jargon File]
(1994-12-01)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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