crick

Meaning

Noun

1. A painful muscular cramp or spasm of some part of the body, as of the neck or back, making it difficult to move the part affected.
2. A small jackscrew.

Verb

1. To develop a crick (cramp, spasm).
2. To cause to develop a crick; to create a crick in.
3. To twist, bend, or contort, especially in a way that produces strain.

Synonyms

cramp

sprain

kink

rick

wrench

🔧

wrick

spasm

muscle spasm

strain

tic

turn

twist

contort

wring

dislocate

distort

pang

prise

quirk

muscle cramp

screw up

stiff neck

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kɹɪk/

Etymology

From Middle English crike, crikke (“muscular spasm of the neck”), attested since the 1400s. Likely related to Old Norse kriki (“bend; nook”), whence also crick (“creek”) and creek.