crooked

adjective

crook·​ed ˈkru̇-kəd 

1

: not straight

a crooked road

Your tie is crooked.

2

: dishonest

a crooked election

crooked politicians

crookedly adverb

crookedness noun

Synonyms of crooked

• curved
• twisted
• winding
• curving
• twisting
• serpentine

Examples of crooked in a Sentence

a long, crooked line of people had formed in front of the ticket booth

the common belief that gambling casinos are often crooked businesses

Recent Examples on the Web

Byrne tends to favor movement that’s kinetic but a little crooked—the sorts of blunt gestures that, theoretically, anyone can do. —Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025

The next room following the crash is designed to feel crooked, and a screen at the end of the hall shows water filling the hall. —Kansas City Star, 8 Nov. 2025

If cellular reproduction were house renovations, then a paint smudge here and a crooked curtain rod there wouldn’t matter much. —New Atlas, 7 Nov. 2025

Here, astronomers are gawking at a radio signal that appears crudely on the screen like a crooked game of Pong but turns out to be a line of data repeated every 78 seconds from 600 light-years away. —Scott Tobias, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see crook entry 2

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

crooked

adjective

crook·​ed ˈkru̇k-əd 

1

: having bends and curves

a crooked path

2

: not set or placed straight

the picture is crooked

3

: dishonest

a crooked card game

crookedly adverb

crookedness noun