crook 1 of 2

noun

Definition of crooknext
1
as in criminal
a person who has committed a crime a guy at the bar was raving about how all politicians are basically crooks

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in curve
something that curves or is curved carried the baby in the crook of her arm

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crook

2 of 2

verb

ˈkru̇k How to pronounce crook (audio)
1
as in to hook
to cause to turn away from a straight line crooked a finger

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to curve
to turn away from a straight line or course the road suddenly crooked to the left

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of crook
Noun
His actions reduced the time the crooks had inside the house. — Jermont Terry, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 If that code never shows up, a crook cannot talk you into reading it back. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Verb
The Charlotte Observer dived into the crowd, lifted our arms to reach faces and crooked our necks to chat with the crowd. — Charlotte Observer, 8 Dec. 2025 This is the best approach for stars whose characters have crooked, chipped or missing teeth. — Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Aug. 2024 See All Example Sentences for crook
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crook
  1. criminal
  2. curve
  3. hook
  4. offender
  5. bend
  6. arch
  7. curvature
  8. angle
Noun
  • The Financial Action Task Force, the global money-laundering watchdog, has warned that criminals exploit citizenship and residency programs to conceal their identities, launder illicit wealth and evade justice.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The real risk is that a criminal could forge your signature on a deed or trick you into signing paperwork that transfers ownership, then file that document with the local office that maintains property records.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • In my view, the government must get ahead of that curve by establishing a full-fledged Department of AI, rather than leaving it to a single individual.
    — Yerbol Orynbayev, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The more exaggerated interpretations, with oversized collars that swallow the chin or heavy embellishment, are the ones most at risk of looking dated once the search curve bends.
    — Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of curve
Verb
  • For years now, hotels have been spending more and more on signature fragrances to woo and hook guests.
    — Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Early in the second quarter, Turner appeared to hook Hull’s arm and pull her to the floor.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of hook
Noun
  • Those illicit techniques include attaching a GPS tracker to a car or using cell-tower data to track a potential offender.
    — Rafael A. Mangual, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The repeat violent offender that attacked multiple women in Dilworth should have never been on the streets.
    — Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of offender
Noun
  • Skoloda drove higher into the gorge, where every bend seemed to trigger a memory.
    — Peter Hessler, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • What singles out Treville is its immense beauty and seclusion, despite Positano being only a couple of hairpin bends away.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of bend
Verb
  • Terracotta tiles are at his feet; behind him is a gnarled pine tree, arching toward the sea.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Its initial trajectory after stage separation will put the spacecraft on the same course as previous flights, arching toward a reentry and splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
    — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of arch
Noun
  • An ant living deep inside the snow globe can’t easily detect any curvature, and therefore can’t tell the difference between anti-de Sitter and de Sitter space.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
  • And if the footprint looks like a full foot with no dry spots in the middle and no inward curvature, the diagnosis is usually flat feet.
    — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of curvature
Noun
  • Rogers controlled Bellingham’s pass with his heel and slotted in from an angle.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • When the pulses met at an angle of 45 degrees, their electric fields combined in a way that made the resulting light field oscillate in all three spatial directions.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of angle

Phrases Containing crook

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cronyism
crook
crooked
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Cite this Entry

“Crook.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crook. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on crook

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about crook

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