meaning of crank
1. A bent portion of an axle, or shaft, or an arm keyed at right angles to the end of a shaft, by which motion is imparted to or received from it; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. See Bell crank.
2. Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage.
3. A twist or turn in speech; a conceit consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word.
4. A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim; crotchet; also, a fit of temper or passion.
5. A person full of crotchets; one given to fantastic or impracticable projects; one whose judgment is perverted in respect to a particular matter.
6. A sick person; an invalid.
7. Sick; infirm.
8. Liable to careen or be overset, as a ship when she is too narrow, or has not sufficient ballast, or is loaded too high, to carry full sail.
9. Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated.
10. To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn.
11. crank Automotive slang Verb used to describe the performance of a machine, especially sustained performance. "This box cranks or, cranks at about 6 megaflops, with a burst mode of twice that on vectorised operations. " [Jargon File]
12. a hand tool consisting of a rotating shaft with parallel handle
Related Words
crank | crank call | crank handle | crank letter | crank out | crank up | crankbird | crankcase | cranked | crankiness | crankle | crankness | crankshaft | cranky |
