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long movable arm: We used a crane to lift the piano into the theatre. 2 a tall waterbird with very long legs and neck
crane² v [I;T] to stretch out (your neck) to get a better view: Jane craned her neck to look for her mother in the crowd. | The children at the back craned forward to see what was happening.
Crane, Ich·a·bod /'ɪkəbɒd||-bɑːd/ the main character in the story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. He is chased by the HEADLESS HORSEMAN.
'crane fly n fm/ an insect with very long legs; DADDY LONGLEGS
cra·ni·um /'kreɪniəm/ n pl. -niums or -nia /niə/ med the bony framework of the human or animal head; part of the SKULL that covers the brain —al adj
crank¹ /kræŋk/ n 1 an apparatus, such as a handle fixed at right angles to a rod, for changing movement in a straight line into circular movement 2 infml, often humor a person with very unusual and strongly held ideas, often concerning food and health, especially ideas that other people think are very foolish: She's a real crank; she only eats brown rice and nuts. 3 AmE infml a bad-tempered person; GROUCH
crank² v [T(UP)] to cause to move by turning a crank: to crank an engine
crank sthg. ⇔ out phr v [T] infml, especially AmE to produce in large amounts, as if by machinery: He cranks out detective stories at the rate of three or four a year.
crank·shaft /'kræŋkʃɑːft||-ʃæft/ n a rod that turns or is driven by a crank, especially in a car engine
crank·y /'kræŋki/ adj infml 1 BrE very strange; odd; ECCENTRIC: a cranky old man | cranky ideas 2 (of a machine or apparatus) unsteady; shaky; in need of repair 3 AmE bad-tempered: a cranky baby/old lady
Cran·mer, Thomas /'krænmər/ (1489-1556) an English priest who was ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, and who was one of the leaders of the REFORMATION (=the time when many Christians in Europe left the Catholic religion and started the Protestant religion) in England. When the Catholic Mary I became Queen of England, she ordered Cranmer to be killed by being burned.
cran·ny /'kræni/ n a small narrow opening in a wall, rock etc; small crack: a mouse hiding in a cranny in the stone wall → see also nooks and crannies (NOOK) —nied adj
crap¹ /kræp/ n taboo slang 1 [U] solid waste matter passed from the bowels 2 [S] an act of passing waste matter from the bowels: to have a crap 3 [U] something worthless or unwanted that does not deserve serious attention: His speech was just a load of (old) crap. | Clear all this crap off the table. → see also CRAPS
crap² v -pp- [I] taboo slang to pass waste matter from the bowels
crap out phr v [I] AmE 1 to lose at CRAPS 2 infml to stop working and become unusable: My car crapped out this morning; I had to take the bus to work.
crape /kreɪp/ n [U] 1 CREPE 2 black material worn as a sign of grief at someone's death. People do not usually wear crape now, although many people do wear black clothes when they go to a funeral.
crap·py /'kræpi/ adj slang of very low quality: a crappy idea
craps /kræps/ n [U] an American game played with two DICE for money: Let's shoot craps. (=play this game) —crap n [A] a crap player
crash¹ /kræʃ/ v 1 [I;T] to (cause to) have a sudden, violent, and noisy accident: The car crashed into a tree and burst into flames. | John crashed his car last night. | The plane crashed shortly after take-off. 2 [I+adv/prep] to move violently and noisily: The angry elephant crashed through the forest. 3 [I;T] to (cause to) fall or hit a surface noisily and violently, especially breaking into pieces: She crashed the plates angrily down on the table. | big waves crashing against the rocks 4 [I] to make a sudden loud noise: The thunder/drums crashed dramatically. 5 [I;T] (in COMPUTERS) to (cause to) fail so that no further work can be done: The computer/We crashed at ten this morning and haven't been up since. 6 [I] (of a business or an organization concerned with money) to fail suddenly; COLLAPSE: The New York Stock Exchange crashed in 1929. 7 [T] infml for GATECRASH 8 [I(OUT)] slang to spend the night; sleep: Can I crash on your floor tonight? 9 [I] AmE slang to COME down (3) (=stop feeling the effects of a drug) in a very unpleasant way: They really crashed on that acid they took.
crash² n 1 a violent vehicle accident: There was a serious car/train/plane crash this morning. 2 a sudden loud noise made for example by a violent blow, fall, break etc: a crash of thunder | the crash of breaking glass 3 a sudden usually unexpected and unexplained failure of a computer or computer system 4 a sudden severe business failure: No one was prepared for the crash. 5 the Crash of 1929 also the Great Crash the failure of the New York Stock Exchange in 1929 that was the beginning of a severe world DEPRESSION
crash³ adj [A] needing great effort to reach the desired results quickly: He wanted to lose weight so he went on a crash diet. | a crash programme of railway modernization
crash⁴ adv [+adv/prep] with a crash: The chandelier landed crash on the floor.
'crash ,barrier n a strong fence or wall built to keep vehicles and/or people apart where there is a possibility of an accident: crash barriers down the middle of the motorway → compare CRUSH BARRIER
'crash course n a course of lessons intended to teach a skill, language etc quickly: I'm taking a crash course in French.
'crash-dive v [I] (of a SUBMARINE) to sink quickly to a great depth —crash dive n
'crash ,helmet n a very strong protective head covering (HELMET) worn by racing car drivers, motorcycle riders etc. In Britain and in most US states it is illegal to ride a motorcycle without wearing a crash helmet.
crash-ing /'kræʃɪŋ/ adj [A] infml (of something bad) very great; complete (especially in the phrase a crashing bore)
'crash-land v [I;T] to crash or cause (a plane) to crash in a controlled way so that as little damage as possible is done —crash landing n
crass /kræs/ adj fml showing great stupidity and a complete lack of feeling or respect for others: crass behaviour/ignorance/insensitivity —ly adv —ness n [U]
Crat·chit, Bob /'krætʃɪt/ a character in the book A Christmas Carol by Charles DICKENS. Bob Cratchit is a kind poor man who has to work very hard for his employer, SCROOGE. He has a young son, TINY TIM, who is very ill and cannot walk.
crate¹ /kreɪt/ n 1 a box or frame, especially made of wood, for storing or carrying fruit, bottles etc: a milk crate 2 [(of)] also crate-ful /-ful/ — the amount that a crate contains: We sold ten crates of lemonade in two hours. 3 old-fash infml a very old car or plane
crate² v [T(UP)] to pack into a crate
cra·ter /'kreɪtər/ n 1 the round bowl-shaped mouth of a VOLCANO 2 a round hole in a surface formed by an explosion, falling METEOR etc: a bomb crater | craters on the moon
cra·vat /krə'væt/ BrE || ascot AmE — n a wide piece of material loosely folded and worn round the neck by men. It is generally thought of as a piece of clothing worn by upper-class people, especially when wearing informal clothes → compare TIE
crave /kreɪv/ v 1 [(for, after);T] to have a very strong almost uncontrollable desire for (something, especially something bad): I was craving for a cigarette. | He craved stardom. 2 [T] fml or pomp to ask seriously for: May I crave your attention?
cra·ven /'kreɪvən/ adj fml derog completely lacking courage; COWARDLY —ly adv —ness n [U]
crav·ing /'kreɪvɪŋ/ n [(for)] a very strong almost uncontrollable desire. PREGNANT women often have a craving for particular foods, especially unusual foods or combinations of foods which are not normally eaten together: a craving for sweets | [+to-v] a craving to have a cigarette → see DESIRE (USAGE)
craw·dad /'krɔ:dæd/ also craw·fish /'krɔ:fɪʃ/ n AmE infml CRAYFISH
Craw·ford, Cin·dy /'krɔ:fɪld||-ɜːrd, 'sɪndi/ (1966-) a very successful US MODEL, who has been on the cover of more than 600 magazines. She has also acted and been a television PRESENTER. She is known for having a MOLE (=dark mark on the skin) above her lip.
Crawford, Joan /dʒɔn/ (1904-77) one of America's most famous film actresses, who usually appeared as characters