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

• bending
• crazy
• curled
• curling
• curved
• curving
• curvy
• devious
• serpentine
• sinuous
• tortuous
• twisted
• twisting
• winding
• windy

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

Among them is Tonic, which stars Blair (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For) as Sebastian Poe, a struggling jazz pianist who is given 24 hours to kill a dangerous drug dealer (Westwick) by a crooked cop (Jaso Coviello), and spirals into a moral and emotional tailspin. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 15 May 2025

Cigarette smoke, dames to kill for, crooked cops — latex super suit? —Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 13 May 2025

Miami awoke to a strange, crooked line of hot pink images floating in the waters of panoramic Biscayne Bay. —Joseph B. Treaster, New York Times, 7 May 2025

About 'Thunderbolts*' Thunderbolts* centers an unlikely team of anti-heroes banding together to escape a deadly trap set for them by crooked politician, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). —Lynnette Nicholas, Parents, 30 Apr. 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