crew

1 of 3

ˈkrü 

chiefly British past tense of crow

crew

2 of 3

noun

ˈkrü 

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

b

: gang sense 1a

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

ˈkrü-ləs 

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

Synonyms

Noun

• gang
• Mafia
• syndicate
• network
• clan
• conspiracy

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

By Monday evening, a fire crew of 183 succeeded in containing 30% of the fire. —Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2025

Lindholm says a few crew members boarded a small rescue boat that launched from the fourth deck. —Jillian Frankel, People.com, 1 July 2025

Verb

As of Friday, the space station has been continuously crewed for 24 years, 7 months and 26 days. —Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 28 June 2025

Orlando Sentinel SpaceX retargets crewed Axiom Space launch for early Sunday SpaceX has reset the countdown clock for its next human spaceflight targeting an early Sunday morning launch of the private Axiom Space Ax-4 mission. —Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 June 2025

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

Phrases Containing crew

• cast and crew
• crew chief
• crew cut
• crew neck
• crew sock
• ground crew
• motley crew
• pit crew

Rhymes for crew

• blew
• blue
• boo
• brew
• chew
• chou
• clue
• coo
• coup
• cue
• dew
• do

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