crony

noun

cro·ny | \ ˈkrō-nē

plural cronies

Definition of crony

: a close friend especially of long standing : pal played golf with his cronies

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Examples of crony in a Sentence

The mayor rewarded his cronies with high-paying jobs after he was elected. the criminal's cronies were also closely questioned about the illegal gambling operation

Recent Examples on the Web

Prosecutors allege that Mazzacurati presided over a consortium where the original aim of saving Venice seems to have been forgotten amid bungs to political parties and cronies. — Manfred Manera, Newsweek, "Civil War in Venice as Corruption Scandal Grows," 18 July 2014 Despite Sudan’s oil wealth, his people remained impoverished as cronies from his Islamist National Congress Party grew rich. ... — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Downfall of a Dictator," 11 Apr. 2019 Elaine Wynn had described Hagenbuch as a crony of her ex-husband. — BostonGlobe.com, "AAA predicts 37 million will take to the road for Memorial Day," 16 May 2018 Widespread land grabbing by Cambodian cronies and foreign investors triggered a tide of popular resentment and occasional violent resistance as the 2013 election approached. — Fox News, "Hun Sen plays hardball to keep his grip on Cambodia," 31 July 2018 The expansion of the CPP’s central committee last year by more than 300 cronies smacks of trying to please everyone. — The Economist, "Hun Sen, Cambodia’s ruler, has been in power too long," 22 Mar. 2018 That included restricting credit to particular Russian banks, energy companies and defense firms known to be controlled by his cronies and freezing assets and instituting travel bans on particular individuals. — Dina Smeltz, Washington Post, "New poll shows Russians are defiant in face of U.S. sanctions," 26 Jan. 2018 That means whether or not Obama's cronies get their power back or whether the Trump agenda continues with its success. — Fox News, "Rudy Giuliani reacts to Paul Manafort's plea deal," 14 Sep. 2018 Frequently the money is used to reward political cronies. — WSJ, "Not All Stimulus Efforts Yield Equal Benefits," 4 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crony.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

17 May 2019

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The first known use of crony was in 1656

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More Definitions for crony

crony

noun

English Language Learners Definition of crony

disapproving : a close friend of someone especially : a friend of someone powerful (such as a politician) who is unfairly given special treatment or favors

See the full definition for crony in the English Language Learners Dictionary

crony

noun

cro·ny | \ ˈkrō-nē

plural cronies