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View synonyms for crow

crow

1

[ kroh ]

noun

  1. any of several large oscine birds of the genus Corvus, of the family Corvidae, having a long, stout bill, lustrous black plumage, and a wedge-shaped tail, as the common C. brachyrhynchos, of North America.
  2. any of several other birds of the family Corvidae.
  3. any of various similar birds of other families.
  4. Crow, Astronomy. the constellation Corvus.


crow

2

[ kroh ]

verb (used without object)

crowingcrowedcrowed (especially British,) crew
  1. to utter the characteristic cry of a rooster.
  2. to gloat, boast, or exult (often followed by over ).

    Synonyms: brag, vaunt

  3. to utter an inarticulate cry of pleasure, as an infant does.

noun

  1. the characteristic cry of a rooster.
  2. an inarticulate cry of pleasure.

Crow

3

[ kroh ]

noun

  1. a member of a Siouan people of eastern Montana.
  2. a Siouan language closely related to Hidatsa.

Crow

1

/ krəʊ /

noun

  1. CrowsCrow a member of a Native American people living in E Montana
  2. the language of this people, belonging to the Siouan family


crow

2

/ krəʊ /

noun

  1. any large gregarious songbird of the genus Corvus, esp C. corone (the carrion crow) of Europe and Asia: family Corvidae . Other species are the raven, rook, and jackdaw and all have a heavy bill, glossy black plumage, and rounded wings See also carrion crow corvine
  2. any of various other corvine birds, such as the jay, magpie, and nutcracker
  3. any of various similar birds of other families
  4. offensive.
    an old or ugly woman
  5. short for crowbar
  6. as the crow flies
    as the crow flies as directly as possible
  7. eat crow informal.
    eat crow to be forced to do something humiliating
  8. See stone
    stone the crows
    stone the crows stone

crow

3

/ krəʊ /

verb

  1. past tense crowed or crew to utter a shrill squawking sound, as a cock
  2. often foll by over to boast one's superiority
  3. (esp of babies) to utter cries of pleasure

noun

  1. the act or an instance of crowing

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Derived Forms

  • ˈcrower, noun
  • ˈcrowingly, adverb

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Other Words From

  • crower noun
  • crowing·ly adverb

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Word History and Origins

Origin of crow1

First recorded before 900; Middle English crowe, Old English crāwe, crāwa; cognate with Old High German krāwa; akin to Dutch kraai, German Krähe

Origin of crow2

First recorded before 1000; Middle English crouen, crowen, Old English crāwan; cognate with Dutch kraaien, German krähen; crow 1

Origin of crow3

1795–1805; translation of North American French ( gens des ) Corbeaux Raven (people), literal translation of Crow apsá˙loke a Crow Indian

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Word History and Origins

Origin of crow1

Old English crāwa; related to Old Norse krāka, Old High German krāia, Dutch kraai

Origin of crow2

Old English crāwan; related to Old High German krāen, Dutch kraaien

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. as the crow flies, in a straight line; by the most direct route:

    The next town is thirty miles from here, as the crow flies.

  2. eat crow, Informal. to be forced to admit to having made a mistake, as by retracting an emphatic statement; suffer humiliation:

    His prediction was completely wrong, and he had to eat crow.

  3. have a crow to pick / pluck with someone, Midland and Southern U.S. to have a reason to disagree or argue with someone.

More idioms and phrases containing crow

In addition to the idiom beginning with crow , also see as the crow flies ; eat crow .

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Example Sentences

Outside, a flock of crows takes off in unison from the branches of an ancient oak.

Almost all young mammals play, as do birds like parrots and crows.

Neuroscientists have become increasingly interested in birds like the crow, which appear to be able to think creatively in ways that mirror human cognition.

It’s the first time that researchers have observed this behavior in snakes, though animals like crows or raccoons eat some toads in a similar fashion.

Some sponsorship contracts are being sold for anything between five to 10 times lower than usual, Crow said.

From Digiday

This mass incarceration is destroying the Black community -- it is, as Michelle Alexander writes, the New Jim Crow.

Thus, during Jim Crow, black men were routinely hanged, castrated, and lynched for alleged sexual assaults against white women.

Each working in its own way was essential to ending Jim Crow in the South.

Slowly, still falteringly but inexorably, Jim Crow justice was disappearing in the South.

“It tasted like a crow enchilada,” Morrissey said, as he literally ate his words.

Not much use as the high crests hid the intervening hinterland from view, even from the crow's nests.

The cat had been about to spring at Grandfather Mole again when Mr. Crow spoke to her.

And he quite agreed with old Mr. Crow, who had come hurrying up to see what was going on.

Mr. Crow was rocking back and forth on his perch, for a joke—on anybody except himself—always delighted him.

Farmer Green's cat had never liked Mr. Crow, for no particular reason.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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