creek

CEFRB1

/krˈik/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A small stream or narrow inlet of water.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A stream of water, typically a stream of freshwater smaller than a river; in Australia, also used of river-sized bodies of water.

Examples

  • The child's ball fell into the creek.

  • They have a fabulous view of the creek.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈkɹiːk/
  • /ˈkɹɪk/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The inner part of a port that is used as a dock for small boats.

  2. A small inlet, often saltwater, leading to the sea or to the main channel of a river, especially a river estuary.

  3. Any turn or winding.

More examples

In context

  • We're up a creek without a paddle.

  • The chieftain was well versed in Creek history.

  • There is a tide in the affairs of men, / Which, taken any way you please, is bad, / And strands them in forsaken guts and creeks / No decent soul would think of visiting.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The children spent the afternoon splashing in the shallow blank behind their house.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English crike, probably from Old Norse kriki, from Proto-Germanic *krikjô, variant of krekô, from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, to wind”); the modern form creek (already late Middle English creke) either reflects open-syllable lengthening of Middle English /i/ or reborrowing from Middle Dutch krēke., Compare typologically English bight, akin to bend, bow. See also Old Dutch creka, crika (“inlet, cove, creek”), Medieval Latin creca, crica, kríkr (“angle, corner, nook, bay”), Old Norse kraki (“pole with a hook, anchor”), and possibly Old Norse krókr (“hook, bend, bight”). Modern cognates include West Frisian kreek (“creek”), Dutch kreek (“creek, cove, inlet, bight”), and Fr...