crouch

CEFRB2

/ˈkɹaʊ̯t͡ʃ/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To bend low with your knees close to your body.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    A bent or stooped position.

Examples

  • Mrs. Crouch, do you have a job?

  • You need to crouch to reach the book under the sofa.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
3
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /ˈkɹɐʊ̯t͡ʃ/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To bend servilely; to bow in reverence or humility.

  2. To 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.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A cross.

More examples

In context

  • The cat waited in a crouch, hidden behind the hedge.

  • We crouched behind the low wall until the squad of soldiers had passed by.

  • Is this Mr Crouch?

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

To avoid the low ceiling, she had to blank while walking through the tunnel.

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

Nearby

Origin

verb

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.