creaked; creaking; creaks
: to make a prolonged grating or squeaking sound often as a result of being worn-out
also
: to proceed slowly with or as if with creaking wheels
the story creaks along to a dull conclusion
: a rasping or grating noise
Examples of creak in a Sentence
Verb
The old floorboards creaked under our feet.
The porch roof creaked with the heavy weight of the snow.
Noun
the creak of a floorboard
Recent Examples on the Web
George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 May 2026
As health secretary, Streeting had been tasked with overhauling Britain’s creaking National Health Service (NHS), which has eaten up a long-increasing share of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 14 May 2026
Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2026
Your baby was waking at every creak of the floorboard, every passing car, every branch scraping the window.
—Allison Palmer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for creak
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Verb
Howe and his players raced ahead of a club whose commercial and marketing departments had been stripped back to the quick under Mike Ashley’s ownership and whose infrastructure — stadium and training ground — was creaking.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 May 2026
As health secretary, Streeting had been tasked with overhauling Britain’s creaking National Health Service (NHS), which has eaten up a long-increasing share of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 14 May 2026
Noun
Mr Cobra opens like a dark, cobwebbed staircase leading into a vast and foreboding space, all frantic flute and piano, creaks, and bone-chilling screeches (not to mention a slutty monologue seemingly communicated via Google Translate).
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2026
Your baby was waking at every creak of the floorboard, every passing car, every branch scraping the window.
—Allison Palmer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for creak
Cite this Entry
“Creak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/creak. Accessed 27 May. 2026.
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