crude

1 of 2

adjective

cruder; crudest
1
: marked by the primitive, gross, or elemental or by uncultivated simplicity or vulgarity
a crude stereotype
crude tools
crude jokes
2
: existing in a natural state and unaltered by cooking or processing
crude oil
crude ore
3
: rough or inexpert in plan or execution
a crude shelter
4
: lacking a covering, glossing, or concealing element : obvious
crude facts
5
: tabulated without being broken down into classes
the crude death rate
6
archaic : unripe, immature
crudely adverb
crudeness noun

crude

2 of 2

noun

: a substance in its natural unprocessed state
especially : unrefined petroleum
Choose the Right Synonym for crude

rude, rough, crude, raw mean lacking in social refinement.

rude implies ignorance of or indifference to good form; it may suggest intentional discourtesy.

rude behavior

rough is likely to stress lack of polish and gentleness.

rough manners

crude may apply to thought or behavior limited to the gross, the obvious, or the primitive.

a crude joke

raw suggests being untested, inexperienced, or unfinished.

turning raw youths into polished performers

Examples of crude in a Sentence

Adjective They built a crude shelter out of branches. a crude summary of the country's history She first described the procedure in crude terms, and then went into more detail.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The recording is a crude fake, according to administration officials who would speak only anonymously to discuss intelligence matters. Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Benzene is a chemical naturally found in crude oil and gasoline that can cause blood diseases, cancer and menstrual irregularities through long-term exposure. Noelle Phillips, The Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2024 His chalk drawings are almost always very crude, so as not to interfere with the whooshing immediacy of the performance or the nervous allure of the performer. Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Oil prices fell after the EIA’s weekly report showed that total domestic commercial crude stocks increased. Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 4 Mar. 2024 Calculations by investor and researcher Alex Turnbull show that China’s stockpile of crude oil has more than doubled since 2020. Mary Hui, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 The Energy Information Administration reported last month oil refinery inputs, crude oil stock, and gasoline production were all increasing. Eva Rothenberg, CNN, 3 Mar. 2024 Doctors have a couple crude methods to diagnose them. Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 1 Mar. 2024 In Warren’s own telling of the story, his first attempt at an electric chronometer was a crude motor that connected the gears of a clock to the Boston Edison electrical system. IEEE Spectrum, 29 Feb. 2024
Noun
Brent crude, the international standard, gained 29 cents to $83.25 a barrel. Yuri Kageyama, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024 Since November, Brent crude, the global benchmark, has risen by nearly $2 a barrel, up to $83.46. Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024 The Russian air force began bolting satellite-guidance kits and pop-out wings onto 1,100-pound and 3,300-pound KAB bombs in order to produce crude, but effective, precision glide-bombs. David Axe, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 When villain Sephiroth undergoes a dramatic early-game personality shift, the original game trusted our imaginations to make that leap with crude, faceless blocky 3D models. Gene Park, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024 Diamondback’s and Endeavor’s assets compliment each other very well, paving the way for the combined company to produce crude more efficiently, said Dan Pickering, who is founder and chief investment officer of Pickering Energy Partners and a veteran of the shale-finance sector. Mitchell Ferman, Fortune, 12 Feb. 2024 Brent crude fell more than 1% to trade below $79 a barrel. WSJ, 28 Dec. 2023 Those nations also forbade their shipping companies and insurance firms – key players in global shipping – from facilitating the trade of Russian crude above that price. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 19 Feb. 2024 Brent crude, the international standard, was up 16 cents at $78.15 per barrel. Stan Choe, Quartz, 6 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crude.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English, from Latin crudus raw, crude, undigested — more at raw

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

circa 1904, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of crude was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near crude

Cite this Entry

“Crude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crude. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

crude

1 of 2 adjective
cruder; crudest
1
: being in a natural state and not changed by cooking or refining : raw
crude oil
2
: not having or showing good manners : vulgar
3
: planned or done in a rough or unskilled way
a crude drawing
crudely adverb
crudeness noun

crude

2 of 2 noun
: crude oil

More from Merriam-Webster on crude

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