crude

adjective \ ˈkrüd \

|Updated on: 16 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: crude in a Sentence

Definition of crude

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

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

The initial fire, caused by the explosion of a small tank containing either crude oil or asphalt, was out by 11:20 a.m. Eleven of the injured are being treated at hospitals in the region.

— meg jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Fire extinguished at Superior oil refinery after at least 20 were injured in explosions," 26 Apr. 2018
For perspective, crude oil was hovering around $48 a barrel back in September 2015.

— mark glover, sacbee, "Gas prices at $4-per-gallon? We could see it with Syria and supply playing roles | The Sacramento Bee," 16 Apr. 2018
For the present two 5000-barrel barges will be used in transporting the crude oil from Long Beach to San Diego.

— sandiegouniontribune.com, "Oil company takes over Chula Vista explosives plant," 6 Apr. 2018
Hydrogen is currently used to upgrade crude oil and synthesize ammonia, a critical building block of the fertilizers applied in modern agriculture.

— melissa c. lott, Scientific American, "This Advance Brings Us a Lot Closer to a "Hydrogen Economy"," 1 May 2017
Algae, over the course of millions of years, naturally creates crude oil; yeast, of course, makes things like beer with relative ease.

— david ferry, Newsweek, "The Promises and Perils of Synthetic Biology," 11 Mar. 2015
That company is targeting clients who bet on the success of energy and commodities markets, like crude oil.

— rebecca lurye, courant.com, "How Seven Stars Cloud Plans To Spend $283M In West Hartford," 14 July 2018
The number of rigs drilling for crude oil or natural gas grew this week by two rigs, both for gas, according to data collected by Houston energy services firm Baker Hughes, a GE company.

— Houston Chronicle, "Texas rig counts ticks up amid oil price slide," 13 July 2018
Like the rest of the European Union, Germany relies on Russian exports as its main supply of gas and crude oil.

— palko karasz, New York Times, "Germany Imports Gas From Russia. But Is It a ‘Captive’?," 11 July 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

crude Synonyms

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

Much of the boost has come from the S&P 500’s energy sector, which has rallied as dwindling oil production in Venezuela and fears of a supply disruption in Iran have sent U.S. crude oil prices soaring above $70 a barrel again.

— michael wursthorn, WSJ, "With Stock Market in Lull, Investors Pin Hopes on Earnings Boom," 10 July 2018
Global oil prices have risen on the expectation that the U.S. will push its allies to stop importing Iranian crude oil, further tightening the world energy supplies.

— matthew lee and jon gambrell, Fox News, "Pompeo talks tough on Iran while visiting the Emirates," 10 July 2018
In addition, China would buy more U.S. crude oil and natural gas exports to quench its thirst for energy.

— steven mufson and damian paletta, chicagotribune.com, "China offered to buy $70 billion in U.S. products to ward off Trump's tariffs," 5 June 2018
In 2015, a BNSF Railway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded near Galena, about 150 miles west of Aurora.

— sarah freishtat, Aurora Beacon-News, "More, longer trains pose concern for suburban leaders after Aurora derailment," 1 June 2018
Venezuela holds the world's largest supply of crude oil -- which once seemed like an endless gusher of cash for the government.

— mariano castillo and marilia brocchetto, CNN, "Polls open in Venezuela as Maduro seeks reelection," 20 May 2018
Hence, the almost weekly public apologies of personalities both famous and faint for crude, rude, thoughtless or worse electronic missives.

— SFChronicle.com, "A long tradition: Americans behaving badly," 5 July 2018
Still, analysts have been increasing their estimates of how far Iranian crude exports are likely to fall.

— stanley reed, BostonGlobe.com, "Producers promised more oil — so why are prices rising?," 4 July 2018
Still, analysts have been increasing their estimates of how far Iranian crude exports are likely to fall, from a few hundred thousand barrels a day to around a million.

— stanley reed, New York Times, "Saudi Arabia Promised More Oil. So Why Are Prices Rising?," 4 July 2018

Origin and Etymology of crude

see ¹crude

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1904

in the meaning defined above

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