crib

[krib] noun, verb, cribbed, crib·bing.
noun
1.
a child's bed with enclosed sides.
2.
a stall or pen for cattle.
3.
a rack or manger for fodder, as in a stable or barn.
4.
a bin for storing grain, salt, etc.
5.
Informal.
a.
a translation, list of correct answers, or other illicit aid used by students while reciting, taking exams, or the like; pony.
b.
plagiarism.
c.
a petty theft.
6.
a room, closet, etc., in a factory or the like, in which tools are kept and issued to workers.
7.
a shallow, separate section of a bathing area, reserved for small children.
8.
any confined space.
9.
Slang. a house, shop, etc., frequented by thieves or regarded by thieves as a likely place for burglarizing.
10.
Building Trades, Civil Engineering. any of various cellular frameworks of logs, squared timbers, or steel or concrete objects of similar form assembled in layers at right angles, often filled with earth and stones and used in the construction of foundations, dams, retaining walls, etc.
11.
a barrier projecting part of the way into a river and then upward, acting to reduce the flow of water and as a storage place for logs being floated downstream.
12.
a lining for a well or other shaft.
13.
Slang. one's home; pad.
14.
Cribbage. a set of cards made up by equal contributions from each player's hand, and belonging to the dealer.
15.
a cheap, ill-kept brothel.
16.
a wicker basket.
17.
British, Australian. lunch, especially a cold lunch carried from home to work and eaten by a laborer on the job; snack.
verb (used with object)
18.
Informal. to pilfer or steal, especially to plagiarize (another's writings or ideas).
19.
to confine in or as if in a crib.
20.
to provide with a crib or cribs.
21.
to line with timber or planking.
00:10
Crib is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
22.
Informal.
a.
to use a crib in examinations, homework, translating, etc.
b.
to steal; plagiarize.
23.
(of a horse) to practice cribbing.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English cribbe, Old English crib(b); cognate with Dutch krib, German Krippe; cf. crèche

Related forms
un·crib, verb (used with object), un·cribbed, un·crib·bing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
crib (krɪb) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a child's bed with slatted wooden sides; cot
2.  a cattle stall or pen
3.  a fodder rack or manger
4.  a bin or granary for storing grain, etc
5.  a small crude cottage or room
6.  informal (US) a house or residence
7.  (NZ) a weekend cottage: term is South Island usage only
8.  any small confined space
9.  informal a brothel
10.  a wicker basket
11.  a representation of the manger in which the infant Jesus was laid at birth
12.  informal a theft, esp of another's writing or thoughts
13.  informal chiefly (Brit) Also called (esp US): pony a translation of a foreign text or a list of answers used by students, often illicitly, as an aid in lessons, examinations, etc
14.  short for cribbage
15.  cribbage the discard pile
16.  Also called: cribwork a framework of heavy timbers laid in layers at right angles to one another, used in the construction of foundations, mines, etc
17.  a storage area for floating logs contained by booms
18.  (Austral), (NZ) a packed lunch taken to work
 
—vb , cribs, cribbing, cribbed
19.  (tr) to put or enclose in or as if in a crib; furnish with a crib
20.  informal (tr) to steal (another's writings or thoughts)
21.  informal (intr) to copy either from a crib or from someone else during a lesson or examination
22.  (tr) to line (a construction hole) with timber beams, logs, or planks
23.  informal (intr) to grumble
 
[Old English cribb; related to Old Saxon kribbia, Old High German krippa; compare Middle High German krēbe basket]
 
'cribber
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Main Entry:  crib
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  See cheat sheet
Main Entry:  crib
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  See crib sheet
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2013 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

crib
O.E. cribbe "manger, fodder bin in cowsheds and fields," from a W.Gmc. root probably related to Ger. krebe "basket." Meaning "child's bed with barred sides" is 1649; probably from frequent use in reference to the manger where infant Jesus was laid. Verb meaning "steal" is 17c. from alternative meaning
"a basket," and this is probably source of student slang "plagiarize" (1778). Thieves' slang for "dwelling house" dates to at least 1812. The O.H.G. version passed to Fr. and became creche.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

crib definition


  1. n.
    a location where thieves gather to plot; a dwelling for thieves, prostitutes, etc. (Underworld.) : The police busted a crib over on Fourth Street.
  2. n.
    a dwelling; home. : My good threads are all back at my crib.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

crib

in agriculture, bin or large container for storing ear corn or other grain or a barred or slatted manger for the feeding of hay or other bulky fodder. Old-style cribs for unshelled corn, usually made of wood, have open or slat construction to ensure ventilation by the wind. Sometimes perforated clay or concrete block walls are used.

Learn more about crib with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
Two large spile drivers are now building a crib, to mark the location of the
  piers.
The commission is now reviewing the safety of crib bumpers.
Surprisingly, toddlers speak in more complex sentences when alone in their crib
  chatting with their stuffed toys.
Many parents are concerned about crib safety and want answers about drop-side
  cribs.
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