as in lifting
to move from a lower to a higher place or position
craned her head to see the roof
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Recent Examples of craning
Joshua appeared as surprised as any of us, craning around as if the words had been blurted by someone on the periphery.
—
Chang-Rae Lee, New Yorker, 3 May 2026
This flexible holder attaches easily to your seatback tray table and adjusts to multiple angles, allowing for hands-free viewing without craning your neck.
—Samantha Leal, Travel + Leisure, 18 Apr. 2026
Crowds of bird fans carrying smartphones and cameras are craning daily for a look at its silly walk, while mostly maintaining a respectful distance.
—ABC News, 9 Apr. 2026
Necks craning to the back of the hall, a hush fell over the small parochial church of Santa María Trinitá on the African island of São Tomé.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
At large venues like the Paramount, late entries can mean watching from the upper balcony, craning toward the screen.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
This color is eye-catching, turning heads and craning the necks of everyone from the elderly to state police.
—Jesus R. Garcia, Houston Chronicle, 4 Jan. 2026
All of those spacecraft craning their necks to track a single object on command from Earth amount to nothing short of a sort of cosmic infrastructure, built and deployed by humans throughout their local solar system.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 20 Nov. 2025
Hours after word emerged of the federal buildup, several Oaklanders pulled up to the bridge off Embarcadero and Dennison Street leading to Coast Guard Island, craning their necks to see the buildup for themselves.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Chang-Rae Lee, New Yorker, 3 May 2026
This flexible holder attaches easily to your seatback tray table and adjusts to multiple angles, allowing for hands-free viewing without craning your neck.
—Samantha Leal, Travel + Leisure, 18 Apr. 2026
Crowds of bird fans carrying smartphones and cameras are craning daily for a look at its silly walk, while mostly maintaining a respectful distance.
—ABC News, 9 Apr. 2026
Necks craning to the back of the hall, a hush fell over the small parochial church of Santa María Trinitá on the African island of São Tomé.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
At large venues like the Paramount, late entries can mean watching from the upper balcony, craning toward the screen.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
This color is eye-catching, turning heads and craning the necks of everyone from the elderly to state police.
—Jesus R. Garcia, Houston Chronicle, 4 Jan. 2026
All of those spacecraft craning their necks to track a single object on command from Earth amount to nothing short of a sort of cosmic infrastructure, built and deployed by humans throughout their local solar system.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 20 Nov. 2025
Hours after word emerged of the federal buildup, several Oaklanders pulled up to the bridge off Embarcadero and Dennison Street leading to Coast Guard Island, craning their necks to see the buildup for themselves.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for craning
Verb
-
The Celtics started 1-for-7 from the field and fell behind 11-3 before Mazzulla made his first change, lifting Harper and sending in Payton Pritchard.—
Zack Cox,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2026
-
The brand says the V-design on the back of these wide-leg pants creates a butt-lifting effect.—
Izzy Baskette,
PEOPLE,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Walker was also experiencing a mental health issue and was shot after raising a knife.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Several early tests failed, raising questions about the program’s future.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The statue depicts a man in a suit hoisting a large flag.—
Anastasia Tsioulcas,
NPR,
2 May 2026
-
Joel Edmundson scored and Anton Forsberg stopped 27 shots for the Kings, whose fifth consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs ended with their eighth consecutive postseason defeat over the past two years and their seventh straight first-round exit since hoisting the Cup 12 years ago.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Jewish Theological Seminary has named Rabbi Mike Uram as its next chancellor, elevating a Jewish educator best known for his time as executive director of the University of Pennsylvania Hillel to lead Conservative Judaism’s flagship university and rabbinical school.—
Andrew Silow-Carroll,
Sun Sentinel,
4 May 2026
-
What was initially thought to be a small number of caves has been proven otherwise through ongoing research, elevating Nottingham’s historical significance (with a reference to Robin Hood attached).—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
3 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Craning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/craning. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
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