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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

crow.

A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles; it has a harsh, croaking call.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/kɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/kɹoʊ/US
  1. A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles; it has a harsh, croaking call.

  2. Any of various dark-coloured nymphalid butterflies of the genus Euploea.

  3. A bar of iron with a beak, crook or claw; a bar of iron used as a lever; a crowbar.

  4. Someone who keeps watch while their associates commit a crime; a lookout.

    archaic · slang
  5. A gangplank (corvus) used by the Ancient Roman navy to board enemy ships.

    historical
  6. The mesentery of an animal.

  7. An ill-tempered and obstinate woman, or one who otherwise has features resembling the bird; a harpy.

    derogatory
  8. A black person.

    ethnic · offensive · slang · slur
  9. The emblem of an eagle, a sign of military rank.

    slang
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂-der.? Proto-Germanic *krēanądeverb. Proto-Germanic *-ǭ Proto-Germanic *krēǭ Proto-West Germanic *krāā Old English crāwe Middle English crowe English crow From Middle English crowe, from Old English crāwe, from Proto-West Germanic *krāā, from Proto-Germanic *krēǭ (compare West Frisian krie, Dutch kraai, German Krähe), from *krēaną (“to crow”). See below. The verb is a back-formation from crowbar.

adj/kɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/kɹoʊ/US
  1. Dark black, the color of a crow; crow-black.

    uncommon
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂-der.? Proto-Germanic *krēanądeverb. Proto-Germanic *-ǭ Proto-Germanic *krēǭ Proto-West Germanic *krāā Old English crāwe Middle English crowe English crow From Middle English crowe, from Old English crāwe, from Proto-West Germanic *krāā, from Proto-Germanic *krēǭ (compare West Frisian krie, Dutch kraai, German Krähe), from *krēaną (“to crow”). See below. The verb is a back-formation from crowbar.

verb/kɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/kɹoʊ/US
  1. To use a crowbar, wedge, or other implement to attempt to open a surface by leveraging force on the opposite end of the tool to pry off the connection between the two surfaces.

    If you wanna get inside, you're gonna have to crow open that door.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂-der.? Proto-Germanic *krēanądeverb. Proto-Germanic *-ǭ Proto-Germanic *krēǭ Proto-West Germanic *krāā Old English crāwe Middle English crowe English crow From Middle English crowe, from Old English crāwe, from Proto-West Germanic *krāā, from Proto-Germanic *krēǭ (compare West Frisian krie, Dutch kraai, German Krähe), from *krēaną (“to crow”). See below. The verb is a back-formation from crowbar.

verb/kɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/kɹoʊ/US
  1. To make the shrill sound characteristic of a rooster; to make a sound in this manner, either in gaiety, joy, pleasure, or defiance.

    intransitive
  2. To shout in exultation or defiance; to brag.

    intransitive
    He’s been crowing all day about winning the game of cards.
  3. To test the reed of a double reed instrument by placing the reed alone in the mouth and blowing it.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

The verb is from Middle English crowen, from Old English crāwan (past tense crēow, past participle crāwen), from Proto-West Germanic *krāan, from Proto-Germanic *krēaną, from imitative Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”). The noun is from Middle English crowe, from the verb. Compare Dutch kraaien, German krähen, Lithuanian gróti, Russian гра́ять (grájatʹ)). Related to croak.

noun/kɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/kɹoʊ/US
  1. The cry or call of a rooster or a cockerel, especially as heard at sunrise.

Where this word comes from

The verb is from Middle English crowen, from Old English crāwan (past tense crēow, past participle crāwen), from Proto-West Germanic *krāan, from Proto-Germanic *krēaną, from imitative Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”). The noun is from Middle English crowe, from the verb. Compare Dutch kraaien, German krähen, Lithuanian gróti, Russian гра́ять (grájatʹ)). Related to croak.

noun/kɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/kɹoʊ/US
  1. Alternative spelling of cro (“marijuana”).

    alt-of · alternative · uncountable
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.