crank in

C c

Definitions of crank in words

noun crank in Machinery. any of several types of arms or levers for imparting rotary or oscillatory motion to a rotating shaft, one end of the crank being fixed to the shaft and the other end receiving reciprocating motion from a hand, connecting rod, etc. 1
noun crank in Informal. an ill-tempered, grouchy person. 1
noun crank in an unbalanced person who is overzealous in the advocacy of a private cause. 1
noun crank in an eccentric or whimsical notion. 1
noun crank in a strikingly clever turn of speech or play on words. 1
noun crank in Archaic. a bend; turn. 1

before 1000

One of the 6% oldest English words

before 1000; Middle English cranke, Old English cranc-, in crancstǣf crank (see staff1)

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 85% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer