croak

[krohk]
verb (used without object)
1.
to utter a low-pitched, harsh cry, as the sound of a frog or a raven.
2.
to speak with a low, rasping voice.
3.
Slang. to die.
4.
to talk despondingly; prophesy trouble or evil; grumble.
verb (used with object)
5.
to utter or announce by croaking.
6.
Slang. to kill.
00:10
Croak is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
to bark; yelp.
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
noun
7.
the act or sound of croaking.

Origin:
1550–60; earlier croke, probably imitative; compare Old English cræcetian (of a raven) to croak

creak, creek, croak.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
croak (krəʊk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  (intr) (of frogs, crows, etc) to make a low, hoarse cry
2.  to utter (something) in this manner: he croaked out the news
3.  (intr) to grumble or be pessimistic
4.  slang
 a.  (intr) to die
 b.  (tr) to kill
 
n
5.  a low hoarse utterance or sound
 
[Old English crācettan; related to Old Norse krāka a crow; see creak]
 
'croaky
 
adj
 
'croakily
 
adv
 
'croakiness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

croak
c.1460, crouken, onomatopoeic or related to O.E. cracian (see crack). Slang meaning "to die" is first recorded 1812, from sound of death rattle. Croaker "prophet of evil" (1637) is from the raven (cf. M.E. crake "a raven," c.1320, from O.N. kraka "crow," of imitative origin).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

croak definition


  1. in.
    to die; to expire; to succumb. : The parrot croaked before I got it home.
  2. tv.
    to kill someone or something. : The car croaked the cat just like that.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
Through the quiet dawn in the rosy light, an eerie croak is reverberating from the distance.
Today, his descendants still sing with a croak, even with perfectly healthy throats.
The call of the crow is a shrill nasal caw in contrast to the deep croak of the raven.
The voice is a croak said to resemble the distant roaring of a bull.
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