Definition

1. Noun:

   • A hand tool: A device consisting of an arm or handle attached at a right angle to a rotating shaft, used to transmit motion or to turn something.
   • An eccentric or irritable person: A person with strange ideas or who is easily annoyed and bad-tempered.
   • A whimsically eccentric person: A person who is peculiar or unconventional in a playful or odd way.
   • A slang term for methamphetamine: An illicit stimulant drug.

2. Verb:

   • To start or operate with a crank: To turn a crank to start an engine or machine.
   • To bend into a curved or angular shape: To form something into the shape of a crank or a zigzag.
   • To travel a zigzag course: To move along a winding or twisting path.

3. Adjective:

   • Unstable or shaky: (Especially of a boat) liable to lean or heel over easily.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • He used a crank to start the old Model T Ford.
  • Don't listen to him; he's just a crank who believes in conspiracy theories.
  • The police seized a quantity of crank in the raid.

• Verb:

  • You have to crank the engine a few times to get it started.
  • The artist cranked the metal rod into a spiral shape.
  • The road cranks sharply to the left just past the bridge.

• Adjective:

  • Be careful in that crank sailboat; it tips over in a light breeze.

Advanced Usage

• "to crank out": To produce something in a rapid, mechanical, or routine manner.
  • The factory cranks out thousands of toys every day.
• "to crank up":
  • To increase the intensity, volume, or level of something.

    • Crank up the music!
  • To start or get something operational.

    • Let's crank up the generator before the storm hits.

Variants and Related Words

• Cranky (adj): Irritable, easily annoyed, or bad-tempered.
  • He's always cranky before he has his morning coffee.
• Crankcase (n): The housing for a crankshaft in an internal combustion engine.
• Crankshaft (n): A shaft driven by a crank, especially the main shaft of an engine that converts reciprocating motion into rotary motion.

Synonyms

• Noun (person): Eccentric, oddball, grouch, curmudgeon, crackpot.
• Noun (tool): Handle, lever.
• Verb: Turn, wind, twist, bend.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Crank out: Produce something mechanically or in large quantities.
  • The author seems to crank out a new novel every year.
• Crank up: Increase power, volume, or intensity; to start an engine or machine.
  • We need to crank up production to meet the new demand.

Related Idioms

• "A crank call": A telephone call made to annoy or harass someone.
  • The radio host received several crank calls during the show.
• "To crank the handle": To put in a lot of effort to make something happen, often in an old-fashioned or laborious way.
  • In the early days of film, you had to crank the handle on the camera.

Adjective

1. (used of boats) inclined to heel over easily under sail

Noun

1. a hand tool consisting of a rotating shaft with parallel handle
2. an amphetamine derivative (trade name Methedrine) used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride; used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant
3. a whimsically eccentric person
4. a bad-tempered person

Verb

1. bend into the shape of a crank
2. fasten with a crank
3. rotate with a crank
4. start by cranking
   • crank up the engine
5. travel along a zigzag path
   • The river zigzags through the countryside