cruder; crudest
1
: marked by the primitive, gross, or elemental or by uncultivated simplicity or vulgarity
a crude stereotype
crude tools
crude jokes
2
: existing in a natural state and unaltered by cooking or processing
crude oil
crude ore
3
: rough or inexpert in plan or execution
a crude shelter
4
: lacking a covering, glossing, or concealing element : obvious
crude facts
5
: tabulated without being broken down into classes
the crude death rate
crudely
adverb
crudeness
noun
: a substance in its natural unprocessed state
especially
: unrefined petroleum
Synonyms
Examples of crude in a Sentence
Adjective
They built a crude shelter out of branches.
a crude summary of the country's history
She first described the procedure in crude terms, and then went into more detail.
Recent Examples on the Web
Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 22 Apr. 2024
China, which ignored the U.S. sanctions, became Venezuela’s main buyer and Iran its main supplier of chemicals needed to dilute and produce the country’s heavy crude oil.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
The first participant in the Spanish study had been blind for 16 years and yet was able to see crude shapes.
—Emily Mullin, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024
With the attacks largely thwarted and mostly unsuccessful, and with Iran signaling that their attack will be the end of their response, the risk to crude oil has diminished, and the situation is thankfully likely to de-escalate going forward.
—Miami Herald Archives Update, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024
But increasingly Iran is considered by experts as a nuclear-threshold state, able to create weapons-grade nuclear material within weeks and a crude nuclear weapon within a year or so.
—Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Gas is made from crude oil and other petroleum liquids.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
In other trading early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 10 cents to $86.31 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
—Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
The Russia-Ukraine war has constrained Russian crude oil supplies.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024
Additionally, cutting off sales of Iranian crude could cause oil prices to spike globally amid tighter supply, potentially leading to higher gas prices ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
—Jeff Stein, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
The country produced a total 3.25 million barrels per day of crude in March, IEA data shows.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
West Texas Intermediate crude hovered below $86 per barrel, and Brent crude was around $90.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024
And remember when cohost Jenny McCarthy would yell at male players, yank their ears, and just be all-around crude on said series?
—Tanner Stransky, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2024
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, has surged more than 16%.
—Laura He, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
That’s after Brent crude had already shot up 20% in the year to date to exceed $90.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2024
The project will include two pipelines to carry crude from shore to the deepwater port, reducing the need for ship-to-ship transfers of oil.
—Matthew Daly, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Oil prices dipped as crude oil inventories increased by 2.7 million barrels from the previous week.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 22 Apr. 2024
China, which ignored the U.S. sanctions, became Venezuela’s main buyer and Iran its main supplier of chemicals needed to dilute and produce the country’s heavy crude oil.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
The first participant in the Spanish study had been blind for 16 years and yet was able to see crude shapes.
—Emily Mullin, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024
With the attacks largely thwarted and mostly unsuccessful, and with Iran signaling that their attack will be the end of their response, the risk to crude oil has diminished, and the situation is thankfully likely to de-escalate going forward.
—Miami Herald Archives Update, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024
But increasingly Iran is considered by experts as a nuclear-threshold state, able to create weapons-grade nuclear material within weeks and a crude nuclear weapon within a year or so.
—Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Gas is made from crude oil and other petroleum liquids.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
In other trading early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 10 cents to $86.31 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
—Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
The Russia-Ukraine war has constrained Russian crude oil supplies.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
Noun
In the oil market, a barrel of U.S. crude for May delivery rose 48 cents to $85.89 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
—Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024
Additionally, cutting off sales of Iranian crude could cause oil prices to spike globally amid tighter supply, potentially leading to higher gas prices ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
—Jeff Stein, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
The country produced a total 3.25 million barrels per day of crude in March, IEA data shows.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
West Texas Intermediate crude hovered below $86 per barrel, and Brent crude was around $90.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024
And remember when cohost Jenny McCarthy would yell at male players, yank their ears, and just be all-around crude on said series?
—Tanner Stransky, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2024
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, has surged more than 16%.
—Laura He, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
That’s after Brent crude had already shot up 20% in the year to date to exceed $90.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2024
The project will include two pipelines to carry crude from shore to the deepwater port, reducing the need for ship-to-ship transfers of oil.
—Matthew Daly, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crude.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near crude
Cite this Entry
“Crude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crude. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
crude
2 of 2 noun
: crude oil
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share