crew

1 of 3

chiefly British past tense of crow

crew

2 of 3

noun

1
archaic : a band or force of armed men
2
a
: a group of people associated together in a common activity or by common traits or interests
3
a
: a company of people working on one job or under one foreman or operating a machine
b
: the whole company belonging to a ship sometimes including the officers and master
also : one who assists the skipper of a sailboat
c
: the persons who have duties on an aircraft in flight
d
: the rowers and coxswain of a racing shell
also : rowing
crewless adjective

crew

3 of 3

verb

crewed; crewing; crews

intransitive verb

: to act as a member of a crew
Horwitz begins his re-creation of Cook's journeys by crewing on a replica of the Endeavour, Cook's first ship.Robert R. Harris

transitive verb

1
: to serve as a crew member on (a ship, an aircraft, etc.)
Crewing the vessel were three experienced sailors …Ron Arias
2
: to supply (something) with people (as for service)
"… you need to know at least 72 hours beforehand … to fuel and crew the plane, fly the plane over, give the crew enough time to rest," he [Erik Pitkethly] says.Emma Sheppard
Eventually, the production based itself in Stirling and Jankel filmed entirely on location …. The Screen Scotland Screen Commission helped crew the film with a majority Scottish contingent.screendaily.com

Examples of crew in a Sentence

Noun a skilled member of a ship's crew the flight's passengers and crew the ship's captain and crew A construction crew will begin work on the house next week. Verb She spent a couple of years crewing on a British ship. The ship was crewed by 12 men.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Valentina suffered minor injuries but was treated by medical crew once the plane landed. Manveena Suri, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 Owls have special velvety feathers that enable silent flight and surround their ear cavities with wind-dampening fluff like the microphones used by outdoor filming crews. Jack Gedney, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 As the lights dimmed, the show’s production crew members threw a curtain over the wrestling star. Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 As a crew member wheeled out a bathtub filled with chilly water, Brolin pulled off his jacket and shirt. Shania Russell, EW.com, 10 Mar. 2024 Around the world, the airline industry has long grappled with the issue of fatigue among staff members, particularly pilots and cabin crew members. Jennifer Hassan, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2024 The issue of crew fatigue for airlines around the world has been exacerbated by a pilot shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Tonkin said. Yan Zhuang, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024 The atmosphere is very relaxed, their crew is extremely skilled, professional, and welcoming, and their pisco selection is extensive. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2024 The flight was traveling from Memphis International Airport, with 160 passengers and six crew members on board, per the Associated Press. Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024
Verb
After a pretty difficult 2023 season, the #7 Porsche Penske, crewed by Newgarden together with series regulars Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, and Matt Campbell, was first across the line, followed seconds later by the Whelen Engineering Cadillac and then the #40 Acura. Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 3 Feb. 2024 The plane was an Airbus A220-100, crewed by two pilots and three flight attendants. Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 2 Jan. 2024 Vehicle System Manager software will allow Gateway to operate autonomously when not crewed, which will be the case for at least nine months each year. IEEE Spectrum, 23 Dec. 2023 The Sophie is crewed by sailors from eight countries and the Number 9 is Bermuda and U.K.-owned and operated, CENTCOM said. NBC News, 4 Dec. 2023 Sanaa time, the Carney detected an anti-ship ballistic missile fired toward the Bahamas flagged and United Kingdom owned bulk cargo ship Unity Explorer, which is crewed by sailors from two nations, CENTCOM said. Samuel Schaffer, Washington Examiner, 3 Dec. 2023 During these tests the aircraft will be crewed, meaning that it will be flown by a pilot who is on board the plane. Rob Verger, Popular Science, 26 Oct. 2023 There are even occasional opportunities to crew when the yacht is being delivered from its home port to the racing destination. Helen Iatrou, Robb Report, 14 Sep. 2023 Anderson said that the Kennicott wasn’t in service this summer because of difficulties crewing the vessel. Andy Lusk, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crew.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English crue, from Middle French, reinforcement, literally, increase, from crue, feminine past participle of croistre to grow, from Latin crescere — more at crescent

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1900, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of crew was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near crew

Cite this Entry

“Crew.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crew. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

crew

noun
ˈkrü
1
: a group or gathering of people
a happy crew
2
: a group of people working together
the kitchen crew
3
: a group of people who operate a ship, train, or airplane
4
: the rowers and coxswain of a racing shell

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