crude

adjective \ ˈkrüd \

Definition of crude

cruder; crudest

1 :existing in a natural state and unaltered by cooking or processing

crude oil

crude ore

2 archaic :unripe, immature

3 :marked by the primitive, gross, or elemental or by uncultivated simplicity or vulgarity

a crude stereotype

crude tools

crude jokes

4 :rough or inexpert in plan or execution

a crude shelter

5 :lacking a covering, glossing, or concealing element :obvious

crude facts

6 :tabulated without being broken down into classes

the crude death rate

—

crudely

adverb

—

crudeness

noun

See crude defined for English-language learners

See crude defined for kids

Examples of crude in a Sentence

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 of crude from the Web

Harvey’s initial blast along the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane was bad enough, sending gasoline prices surging and crude futures plunging as refineries shut.

— brian k sullivan, Bloomberg.com, "Harvey Makes Second Landfall on Battered Gulf Coastline," 30 Aug. 2017
When crude prices drop rigs stop drilling, and work for oil service companies like Montco dries up.

— justin nobel, Longreads, "Why Oil-Loving Louisiana Should Embrace America’s Coming Offshore Wind Boom," 23 Aug. 2017
Energy companies declined the most, along with the price of crude oil.

— alex veiga, Philly.com, "Dow continues 10-day winning streak," 8 Aug. 2017
Meanwhile Euron taunts Jaime with crude side comments about Cersei.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 3: 12 Things to Know About "The Queen's Justice"," 31 July 2017
Again: even the crude consumerism that drives The Emoji Movie could perhaps be forgiven, or at least mitigated, if the film itself had any sense of fun, or inventiveness, or sly self-awareness.

— hillary busis, HWD, "Nobody Likes The Emoji Movie," 28 July 2017
That day, Boland — who some inmates said treated them rudely — used crude language to tell Jenkins to take the toilet paper back to his cell, the inmates said.

— steve mills, chicagotribune.com, "How did Terrance Jenkins die? Guards, prisoners disagree on details in inmate's death," 17 July 2017
In 2004, some cooperative captives were taken there for time away from the crude single-cell confinement of Camp Delta.

— carol rosenberg, miamiherald, "Guantánamo admiral wants to raze a prison facility for a base recreation spot," 14 July 2017
Iceland is sick of tourists’ bad behavior, from pooping everywhere but porta-potties to, last month, picking out a crude message in moss that will deface a hillside for decades.

— rosa inocencio smith, The Atlantic, "The Atlantic Daily: Revisions and Decisions," 13 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of crude

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

crude Synonyms

Synonyms

native, natural, raw, rude, undressed, unprocessed, unrefined, untreated, in the raw, in the rough

Antonyms

dressed, processed, refined, treated

Related Words

undeveloped; rough-hewn, semifinished, unfinished, unpolished; uncooked; impure, unfiltered

Near Antonyms

filtered, pure, purified

Synonym Discussion of 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

crude

noun

Definition of crude

:a substance in its natural unprocessed state; especially :unrefined petroleum

See crude defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of crude from the Web

On the upside, the shutdown of some refineries has resulted in a pent-up supply in crude oil, causing its commodity price to decrease.

— NOLA.com, "How hard will Harvey hit gas prices and the energy sector?," 29 Aug. 2017
By Friday, about 1 million barrels a day of crude and condensate refining capacity in Texas had been shut down by companies including Valero Energy Corp., according to company statements, government releases and people familiar with the situation.

— Fortune, "Harvey Hits U.S. Oil Hub With Massive Winds and Torrential Rain," 26 Aug. 2017
COMMODITIES: Benchmark U.S. crude added 9 cents to $47.52 per gallon.

— stan choe, The Seattle Times, "Stocks climb; S&P 500 on pace to snap two-week losing streak," 25 Aug. 2017
Exxon Valdez runs aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, spilling 257,000 barrels of crude oil.

— cnt editors, CNT, "How Travel Has Changed Over the Last 30 Years," 22 Aug. 2017
Back in the summer of 2008, the price for a barrel of crude oil hit $145.

— joe taschler, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Reviving Midwest Express: $100 million and a good cookie recipe," 14 Aug. 2017
Washington has slapped sanctions on some top Venezuelan leaders, and is reportedly mulling tougher steps, but is leery about taking measures (like blocking imports of Venezuelan crude oil) that could further derail the economy.

— chicagotribune.com, "With Trump 'locked and loaded,' Pence off to Latin America," 11 Aug. 2017
Benchmark U.S. crude dipped 56 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $49.03 a barrel in New York.

— marley jay, Philly.com, "Small-company stocks see slump," 4 Aug. 2017
Doctors also used chemicals and radiation to obliterate his bone marrow, the source of all his blood cells—a crude but effective strategy to destroy any cancerous ones that survived chemotherapy.

— jon cohen, Science | AAAS, "A stem cell transplant helped beat back a young doctor’s cancer. Now, it’s assaulting his body," 12 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of crude

see ¹crude

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1904

See Words from the same year

CRUDE Defined for English Language Learners

crude

adjective

Definition of crude for English Language Learners

: very simple and basic : made or done in a way that does not show a lot of skill
: rude in a way that makes people uncomfortable; especially : talking about sexual matters in a rude way
: very simple and basic in a way that is true but not complete

crude

noun

Definition of crude for English Language Learners

: oil as it exists in the ground : petroleum that is not yet ready to be used as fuel

CRUDE Defined for Kids

crude

adjective \ ˈkrüd \

Definition of crude for Students

cruder; crudest

1 :in a natural state and not changed by special treatment :raw

crude oil

crude sugar

2 :planned or done in a rough or unskilled way

a crude drawing

3 :not having or showing good manners :vulgar

crude language

—

crudely

adverb

—

crudeness

noun

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crude

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