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crutch

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crutch

  [kruhch]
Use crutch in a Sentence
–noun
1. a staff or support to assist a lame or infirm person in walking, now usually with a crosspiece at one end to fit under the armpit.
2. any of various devices resembling this in shape or use.
3. anything that serves as a temporary and often inappropriate support, supplement, or substitute; prop: He uses liquor as a psychological crutch.
4. a forked support or part.
5. the crotch of the human body.
6. Also, crotch. Nautical.
a. a forked support for a boom or spar when not in use.
b. a forked support for an oar on the sides or stern of a rowboat.
c. a horizontal knee reinforcing the stern frames of a wooden vessel.
7. a forked device on the left side of a sidesaddle, consisting of two hooks, one of which is open at the bottom and serves to clamp the left knee and the other of which is open at the top and serves to support the right knee.
–verb (used with object)
8. to support on crutches; prop; sustain.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME crucche, OE cryce (obl. crycce); c. Norw krykkja, Dan krykke, G Krücke, D kruk. See crook 1

Related forms:
crutchlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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crutch   (krŭch)   


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n.  

  1. A staff or support used by the physically injured or disabled as an aid in walking, usually designed to fit under the armpit and often used in pairs.

  2. A forked leg rest on a sidesaddle.

  3. A device used for assistance or support; a prop: a mnemonic crutch.

  4. The crotch of a person or an animal.

  5. A forked device or part.

tr.v.   crutched, crutch·ing, crutch·es
To support on or as if on crutches; prop up.

[Middle English crucche, from Old English crycc.]
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
crutch

  1. n.
    a car. (Streets.) : That's one fine crutch you got here, Bud.
  2. n.
    a device to hold a marijuana cigarette butt. : Here's a crutch so you can finish your smoke.
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

crutch 
O.E. crycce "staff," from P.Gmc. *krukjo. Figurative sense is first recorded 1602.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1crutch
Pronunciation: 'kr&ch
Function: noun
1 : a support typically fitting under the armpit for use as an aid in walking
2 : the crotch especially of an animal

Main Entry: 2crutch
Function: transitive verb
: to support on crutches
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

crutch (krŭch)
n.
A staff or support used by a physically injured or disabled individual as an aid in walking, usually designed to fit under the armpit and often used in pairs.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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