crank
crank [crank cranks cranked cranking] noun, verb BrE [kræŋk] NAmE [kræŋk] noun 1. (disapproving)a person with ideas that other people find strange Syn: ↑eccentric •Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. •Everybody famous gets crank calls and letters. 2. (NAmE)a person who easily gets angry or annoyed •The old crank next door can't stand the sound of our lawnmower. 3. a bar and handle in the shape of an L that you pull or turn to produce movement in a machine, etc. Word Origin: n. sense 3 and v. Old English cranc (recorded in crancstæf, denoting a weaver's implement), related to crincan ‘bend, yield, fall in battle’, of Germanic origin. Derived: ↑crank something out ▪ ↑crank something up verb ~ sth (up) to make sth turn or move by using a ↑crank •to crank an engine • (figurative)He has a limited time to crank the reforms into action. Verb forms: Word Origin: n. sense 3 and v. Old English cranc (recorded in crancstæf, denoting a weaver's implement), related to crincan ‘bend, yield, fall in battle’, of Germanic origin.
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