crick

1
[ krik ]
See synonyms for crick on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a sharp, painful spasm of the muscles, as of the neck or back.

verb (used with object)
  1. to give a crick or wrench to (the neck, back, etc.).

Origin of crick

1
1400–50; late Middle English crikke, perhaps akin to crick2

Other definitions for crick (2 of 3)

crick2
[ krik ]

nounNorthern, North Midland, and Western U.S.

Other definitions for Crick (3 of 3)

Crick
[ krik ]

noun
  1. Francis Harry Compton, 1916–2004, English biophysicist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1962.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use crick in a sentence

  • Close by them the odd man was strutting in stiff, ungainly attitudes, cricking his neck and elbows, and tossing up his toes.

    The Field of Clover | Laurence Housman
  • By cricking your neck from my window, Mr Babylon, you can get a glimpse of the Embankment and the river.

    The Grand Babylon Hotel | Arnold Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for crick (1 of 3)

crick1

/ (krɪk) informal /


noun
  1. a painful muscle spasm or cramp, esp in the neck or back

verb
  1. (tr) to cause a crick in (the neck, back, etc)

Origin of crick

1
C15: of uncertain origin

British Dictionary definitions for crick (2 of 3)

crick2

/ (krɪk) /


noun
  1. US and Canadian a dialect word for creek (def. 2)

British Dictionary definitions for Crick (3 of 3)

Crick

/ (krɪk) /


noun
  1. Francis Harry Compton. 1916–2004, English molecular biologist: helped to discover the helical structure of DNA; Nobel prize for physiology or medicine shared with James Watson and Maurice Wilkins 1962

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Crick

Crick

[ krĭk ]


See Note at Rosalind Franklin.
  1. British biologist who with James D. Watson identified the structure of DNA in 1953. By analyzing the patterns cast by x-rays striking DNA molecules, they found that DNA has the structure of a double helix, consisting of two spirals linked together at the base, forming ladderlike rungs. For this work they shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine with Maurice Wilkins.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.