1
: a bent part of an axle or shaft or an arm keyed at right angles to the end of a shaft by which circular motion is imparted to or received from the shaft or by which reciprocating motion is changed into circular motion or vice versa
2
3
: crystal meth
specifically
: an impure form of crystal meth
cranked; cranking; cranks
1
: to move with a winding course : zigzag
2
a
: to turn a crank
b
: to get started by or as if by the turning of a crank
c
: to gain speed, momentum, or intensity
—usually used with up
the campaign is cranking up
1
: to move or operate by or as if by a crank
crank the window down
2
a
: to cause to start
crank an automobile
b
: to rotate the shaft (such as a crankshaft) of especially with a starter
crank over an engine
c
: to use in trying to start an engine
crank the starter
3
a
: to start as if by use of a crank
—usually used with up
she cranked up the air conditioner
b
: turn up sense 2
—usually used with up
crank up the volume
: of, relating to, or being a bad-tempered or annoyingly eccentric person
also
: made or sent by such a person or by someone intending to be an annoyance or to cause harm
crank calls
a crank letter
1
chiefly dialectal
: merry, high-spirited
of a boat
: easily tipped : tender entry 1 sense 4d
Synonyms
Examples of crank in a Sentence
Noun
To open the car window, turn the crank on the door.
He was dismissed as a crank until his article was published.
Most people think she's just a harmless crank.
Verb
He cranked the temperature to 75 degrees.
Crank the engine to see if it will start.
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024
My perfect morning goes something like this: Wake up, hit the gym, eat a well-balanced breakfast, and then log onto YouTube and immerse myself in the doomsday percussion and tumbling flows of DMV crank.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 19 Dec. 2023
There’s room for things to get more complicated within each of those bullet points, depending on the shape and space available on your handlebars, the space between your cranks and frame, and other factors.
—Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 20 Oct. 2023
To use this popcorn maker, hold the wooden handle with one hand and slowly turn the crank with the other.
—Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Mar. 2024
But most audiences would recognize his face from something, and over the past 30 years he’s built up an apex career for a character actor: the middle-aged crank who can headline a film but just as easily fill in as one of Dwayne Johnson’s action-movie sidekicks (in fact, he’s done that twice).
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 29 Feb. 2024
Every nightfall, cranks mounted on a floating platform lower the ring 25 meters below the surface to expose the seaweed to cooler, more nutrient-rich water.
—IEEE Spectrum, 21 Dec. 2023
Twelve months out from Election Day, the Presidential campaign has inescapably begun with the slow, ominous, upward crank of a roller coaster.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 12 Nov. 2023
Last year’s 13 Ultra impressed, but the 14 Ultra cranks everything up to 11, or, eh 14?
—Julian Chokkattu Simon Hill, WIRED, 26 Feb. 2024
Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 10 Apr. 2024
On top of that, record heat fueled by global warming is spurring people to crank up air-conditioning, causing summer demand in Arizona and Texas to rise faster than forecast.
—Brad Plumer, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024
His wife, Andrea, brings a hand washer on road trips, then cranks up a hair dryer if his clothes don’t air dry overnight.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2024
Miami will feel the low frequency rumble of thundering techno — and perhaps some forecast thunderstorms — as the masses descend on Bayfront Park in downtown Miami to see and hear hundreds of DJs crank up the beats for the 24th annual Ultra Music Festival.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2024
As China cranks up its sales assault in Europe, the scene is set for a price war, said Al Bedwell, analyst at GlobalData, which might end up benefitting EV sales.
—Neil Winton, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Osborne pulled up, opened the sunroof, cranked up the sound-projecting speakers and gave them a show to remember.
—Taiia Smart Young, Essence, 14 Feb. 2024
Opt for lures like Bull Dawgs, crankbaits, and glide baits that can be worked with a wide range of speed, as opposed to bucktails that have to be cranked quickly to maintain their action.
—Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 14 Mar. 2024
The Masked Singer certainly cranked it up to 11 on Wednesday’s season 11 premiere.
—Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024
Matt Jancer, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2023
This means the percentage of energy transferred from your legs during each pedal stroke to your crank arm.
—Maggie Slepian, Travel + Leisure, 16 Oct. 2023
Model numbers can be found on the inside of the crank arm near the backside of the arm where the pedals are attached.
—Elizabeth Napolitano, CBS News, 22 Sep. 2023
Any big-box retailer will have a selection of weather-band radios, powered by a crank or replaceable batteries.
—Heather Kelly, Washington Post, 19 July 2023
Whatever the case, those 12- to 16-inch fallfish had no problem smashing a variety of jigs, spinners and mini-crank baits.
—Jim Gronaw, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 17 Oct. 2021
For a non-crank evolutionary biologist who is willing to defend the race concept for humans, see Jerry Coyne.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2013
Noun
In September 2021, DeSantis appointed as his state’s surgeon general the COVID crank Joseph Ladapo, an advocate of the useless anti-COVID nostrums hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin and a persistent anti-vaccine advocate.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024
My perfect morning goes something like this: Wake up, hit the gym, eat a well-balanced breakfast, and then log onto YouTube and immerse myself in the doomsday percussion and tumbling flows of DMV crank.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 19 Dec. 2023
There’s room for things to get more complicated within each of those bullet points, depending on the shape and space available on your handlebars, the space between your cranks and frame, and other factors.
—Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 20 Oct. 2023
To use this popcorn maker, hold the wooden handle with one hand and slowly turn the crank with the other.
—Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Mar. 2024
But most audiences would recognize his face from something, and over the past 30 years he’s built up an apex career for a character actor: the middle-aged crank who can headline a film but just as easily fill in as one of Dwayne Johnson’s action-movie sidekicks (in fact, he’s done that twice).
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 29 Feb. 2024
Every nightfall, cranks mounted on a floating platform lower the ring 25 meters below the surface to expose the seaweed to cooler, more nutrient-rich water.
—IEEE Spectrum, 21 Dec. 2023
Twelve months out from Election Day, the Presidential campaign has inescapably begun with the slow, ominous, upward crank of a roller coaster.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 12 Nov. 2023
Last year’s 13 Ultra impressed, but the 14 Ultra cranks everything up to 11, or, eh 14?
—Julian Chokkattu Simon Hill, WIRED, 26 Feb. 2024
Verb
Souza, the reigning SEC freshman of the week, cranked a double into the gap in right-center field, easily scoring Edmunson to give Arkansas the lead.
—Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 10 Apr. 2024
On top of that, record heat fueled by global warming is spurring people to crank up air-conditioning, causing summer demand in Arizona and Texas to rise faster than forecast.
—Brad Plumer, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024
His wife, Andrea, brings a hand washer on road trips, then cranks up a hair dryer if his clothes don’t air dry overnight.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2024
Miami will feel the low frequency rumble of thundering techno — and perhaps some forecast thunderstorms — as the masses descend on Bayfront Park in downtown Miami to see and hear hundreds of DJs crank up the beats for the 24th annual Ultra Music Festival.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2024
As China cranks up its sales assault in Europe, the scene is set for a price war, said Al Bedwell, analyst at GlobalData, which might end up benefitting EV sales.
—Neil Winton, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Osborne pulled up, opened the sunroof, cranked up the sound-projecting speakers and gave them a show to remember.
—Taiia Smart Young, Essence, 14 Feb. 2024
Opt for lures like Bull Dawgs, crankbaits, and glide baits that can be worked with a wide range of speed, as opposed to bucktails that have to be cranked quickly to maintain their action.
—Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 14 Mar. 2024
The Masked Singer certainly cranked it up to 11 on Wednesday’s season 11 premiere.
—Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Secondary targets for theft include the pedals, crank arm and crankset, handlebar grips, shifter, derailleur, and brake calipers.
—Matt Jancer, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2023
This means the percentage of energy transferred from your legs during each pedal stroke to your crank arm.
—Maggie Slepian, Travel + Leisure, 16 Oct. 2023
Model numbers can be found on the inside of the crank arm near the backside of the arm where the pedals are attached.
—Elizabeth Napolitano, CBS News, 22 Sep. 2023
Any big-box retailer will have a selection of weather-band radios, powered by a crank or replaceable batteries.
—Heather Kelly, Washington Post, 19 July 2023
Whatever the case, those 12- to 16-inch fallfish had no problem smashing a variety of jigs, spinners and mini-crank baits.
—Jim Gronaw, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 17 Oct. 2021
For a non-crank evolutionary biologist who is willing to defend the race concept for humans, see Jerry Coyne.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2013
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crank.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near crank
Cite this Entry
“Crank.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crank. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
crank
1 of 2 noun1
: a bent part of an axle or shaft or an armlike part at right angles to the end of a shaft that gives or receives circular motion
2
a
: a person with strange ideas
b
: a cross or irritable person
crank
2 of 2 verb
: to move, run, or start by or as if by turning a crank
crank up the window
you had to crank the old car
the engine isn't cranking right
Medical Definition
crank
noun
: crystal meth
specifically
: an impure form of crystal meth
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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