crude

adjective \ ˈkrüd \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

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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

China immediately hit back with penalties of the same rate on imports of high-value U.S. goods including farm products, cars and crude oil.

— eamon barrett, Fortune, "Tit-for-Tat: Trump and Xi Both Think the Other Guy is Bluffing," 16 June 2018
The second wave of Chinese tariffs will come later in the year, targeting another 114 goods worth $16 billion, including chemicals, medical equipment, and energy products like coal, crude oil, and gasoline.

— chas danner, Daily Intelligencer, "China Retaliates With New Tariffs as Trump’s Trade War Escalates," 16 June 2018
At one site, two large tanks were surrounded by a large black lake of crude oil that had seeped out.

— New York Times, "Workers Flee and Thieves Loot Venezuela’s Reeling Oil Giant," 14 June 2018
The Canadian government is purchasing a vital link in Washington’s oil network — a nearly 70-mile pipeline spur running through Whatcom and Skagit counties that feeds crude oil to four refineries, according to financial-disclosure documents.

— hal bernton, The Seattle Times, "Canada acquires key pipeline link to Washington refineries," 11 June 2018
The number of rigs drilling for crude oil or natural gas grew by one rig this week, with a net gain of two oil rigs and a lost of one seeking just gas.

— jordan, San Antonio Express-News, "Oil rig count ticks up slightly in Texas, nation," 1 June 2018
The problems include wax and ice buildup in the line that occurs as crude oil flows more slowly, losing heat.

— alex demarban, Anchorage Daily News, "Federal effort to prepare for ANWR lease sale draws big crowd in Anchorage," 31 May 2018
Rising prices of crude oil, high demand for fuel and maintenance work needing to be done at refineries – some of which was delayed because of last year’s Hurricane Harvey – are among the suspected causes of the hikes.

— greg norman, Fox News, "Some 42 million Americans set to travel Memorial Day weekend - and gas prices are highest since 2014," 25 May 2018
In 2015, a burst pipeline at Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County spewed 142,800 gallons of crude oil into the ocean and along the beach, coating 7 miles of beaches with crude oil and killing dolphins, birds and sea lions.

— peter fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, "In Bay Area, six national sites would be threatened by off-shore oil drilling, report says," 23 May 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

The idea behind that oil storage area was that, when Cushing’s oil tanks filled completely, that abundant supply would put downward pressure on the price of crude.

— ed wallace, star-telegram, "Myths and Numbers," 17 June 2018
Pressure is building on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to ease the 18-month production curbs that have helped prices of Brent crude more than double to around $73 a barrel since their lows in early 2016.

— New York Times, "Central Bankers Will Debate Policy, and OPEC Meets on Output," 17 June 2018
But as the price of crude has risen, so has production, growing 25% in the last year.

— bloomberg, latimes.com, "Gas glut in West Texas sparks a quandary: How much of it should be burned off?," 8 June 2018
But plenty of the global economy still runs on the burning of crude, and a price spike can still pack a wallop.

— david dayen, The New Republic, "Fears of the Next Recession," 30 May 2018
The price of Brent crude has risen by nearly 50% in the past year to around $80 a barrel.

— The Economist, "Dear oil helps some emerging economies and harms others," 26 May 2018
The hottest oil stock from the U.S. shale boom has never pumped a single barrel of crude.

— kevin crowley, Bloomberg.com, "The 130-Year-Old Bankruptcy That Created a $5 Billion Oil Giant," 20 May 2018
Total also bought about 56 million barrels of Iranian crude for nearly 2.6 billion euros last year, primarily for its own refineries, according to its annual report.

— Fortune, "Trump's Iran Sanctions Have Already Convinced One Oil Company to Leave the Country," 17 May 2018
The Trump administration pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and promised to re-impose sanctions on Tehran; that decision has been connected to the rising price of crude.

— dan rodricks, baltimoresun.com, "Hard to find the Chevy Bolt in heavy traffic," 15 May 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

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

Definition of crude

crudely

crudeness

Examples of crude in a Sentence

Recent Examples of crude from the Web

Origin and Etymology of crude

crude Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Synonym Discussion of crude

crude

Definition of crude

Recent Examples of crude from the Web

Origin and Etymology of crude

CRUDE Defined for English Language Learners

crude

Definition of crude for English Language Learners

crude

Definition of crude for English Language Learners

CRUDE Defined for Kids

crude

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crudely

crudeness

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