crank

Meaning

Adj

1. (dialectal) Hard; difficult.
2. (informal) Strange; weird; odd.
3. (dialectal) Bent; twisted; crooked; distorted; out of repair.
4. Sick; unwell.
5. Liable to capsize because of poorly stowed cargo or insufficient ballast.
6. Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated.

Noun

1. (dialectal) An ailment, ache.
2. (informal) An ill-tempered or nasty person.
3. A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim;
4. A fit of temper or passion.
5. (British, dated, informal) A person who is considered strange or odd by others, and may behave in unconventional ways.
6. (informal) An amateur in science or other technical subjects who persistently advocates flawed theories.
7. (archaic, slang) A baseball fan.
8. (obsolete) A sick person; an invalid.

Noun

1. A bent piece of an axle or shaft, or an attached arm perpendicular, or nearly so, to the end of a shaft or wheel, used to impart a rotation to a wheel or other mechanical device; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion.
2. (abbreviation, alt-of, clipping) A bent piece of an axle or shaft, or an attached arm perpendicular, or nearly so, to the end of a shaft or wheel, used to impart a rotation to a wheel or other mechanical device; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion.
3. The act of converting power into motion, by turning a crankshaft.
4. (archaic) Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage.
5. (US, slang) Synonym of methamphetamine.
6. (rare) A twist or turn in speech; word play consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word.
7. (slang) The penis.

Verb

1. (transitive) To turn by means of a crank.
2. (intransitive) To turn a crank.
3. (intransitive) To turn.
4. (transitive) To cause to spin via other means, as though turned by a crank.
5. (intransitive) To act in a cranky manner; to behave unreasonably and irritably, especially through complaining.
6. (intransitive) To be running at a high level of output or effort.
7. (dated, intransitive) To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn.

Synonyms

eccentric

crank up

lever

nut

zigzag

meth

turn

oddball

methamphetamine

crackpot

twist

craze

winch

wind

oddity

chalk

crosspatch

psychopath

freak

fruitcake

revolve

Methedrine

chicken feed

deoxyephedrine

methamphetamine hydrochloride

nut case

shabu

starting handle

glass

churl

screwball

grump

grouch

bend

ice

🧊

madcap

starter

tender

tippy

fad

trash

cranky

twirl

weirdo

whim

wile

winding

change direction

bellcrank

methedrine

Translations

manivelle

Kurbel

manivela

manovella

manivela

Sonderling

Spinner

kol

manivela

Miesepeter

huysuz

στρόφαλος

excentrique

fanatique

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kɹæŋk/

Etymology

Cognate with Scots: crank

Cognate with German: krank

Inherited from Middle English: crank

In summary

From Dutch or Low German krank, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *krank, from Proto-Germanic *krangaz, *krankaz (“bent; weak”). Cognate with Scots crank, krank, German krank (“sick”).