Crouch Meaning
/ˈkɹaʊ̯t͡ʃ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo bend down; to stoop low; to stand close to the ground with legs bent, like an animal when waiting for prey, or someone in fear.
verbTo bend servilely; to bow in reverence or humility.
Sentence Examples
Mrs. Crouch, do you have a job?
Is this Mr Crouch?
You need to crouch to reach the book under the sofa.
CEFR Practice Quiz
To avoid the low ceiling, she had to ____ while walking through the tunnel.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Mrs. ____, do you have a job?
Word Origin & History
From Middle English crouchen (“to bend, crouch”), variant of croken (“to bend, crook”), from crok (“crook, hook”), from Old Norse krókr (“hook”), from Proto-Germanic *krōkaz (“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerg- (“wicker, bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, wind, weave”). Compare Middle Dutch krōken (“to crook, curl”). More at crook.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Archer and Jacob jumped up from behind the mound where they had been crouching with the intention of springing upon their mother unexpectedly, and they all began to walk slowly home."
— 1922, Virginia Woolf, chapter 2, in Jacob's Room:
"kings ſhall crouch vnto our conquering ſwords,
And hoſtes of Souldiers ſtand amazd at vs,
When with their fearfull tongues they ſhall confeſſe
Theſe are the men that al the world admires,"
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
"Must I stand and crouch
Under your testy humour?"
— 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
"a crouching purpose"
— 1816, William Wordsworth, Thanksgiving Ode:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
To avoid the low ceiling, she had to ____ while walking through the tunnel.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Mrs. ____, do you have a job?