cranking

verb

present participle of crank
as in winding

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cranking
  1. winding
  2. reeling
  3. coiling
Verb
  • The 29-year-old Californian’s journey to UFC title contention has been a unique one, starting in the NFL and winding his way to the fighting promotion’s roster just 16 months ago.
    — Oscar Hartzog, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 2026
  • My husband, brother-in-law, and some of my colleagues were split between two rickshaws, winding our way up a massive hill toward the Chamundeshwari Temple.
    — Katie Camero, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of winding
Verb
  • Pakistan’s most experienced seamer Mohammad Abbas and Saqib hit the right lengths with the new ball and both struck in their second overs to have Sri Lanka reeling at 12-2.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Nov. 2026
  • The impeachment effort could attract more bipartisan support, since members of both parties are frustrated with Hegseth's handling of the war with Iran and Republicans are reeling from their defeats in the midterm elections.
    — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of reeling
Verb
  • In those animals, a mutation in another gene can produce left-coiling individuals, but it is also associated with abnormal development.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The stock has spent two months coiling in a narrow range, so the levels that matter are close by.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of coiling
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

crankiness
cranking
cranking out
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cranking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cranking. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of lissome

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All