crouchcrouch /kraʊtʃ/ ●●○ verb [intransitive] 
Word Origin Examples
He crouched in the shadows near the doorway. Paula crouched down and held her hands out to the fire.2to bend over something so that you are very near to it → leancrouch over a young girl crouched over a book—crouch noun [countable]: She dropped to the ground in a crouch.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINcrouch
Verb TableOrigin:
1300-1400 Perhaps from Old French crochir ‘to become hook-shaped’, from croche; ➔ CROCHETVERB TABLE
crouch
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | crouch |
| he, she, it | crouches | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | crouched |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have crouched |
| he, she, it | has crouched | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had crouched |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will crouch |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have crouched |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am crouching |
| he, she, it | is crouching | |
| you, we, they | are crouching | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was crouching |
| you, we, they | were crouching | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been crouching |
| he, she, it | has been crouching | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been crouching |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be crouching |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been crouching |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- A black cat crouched in the corner.
- I crouched behind a bush as the soldiers marched by.
- The plumber crouched down and looked under the sink.
- There were six people in the clearing, crouching around the campfire.
- I crouched beside him and looked into his wild eyes.
- I gestured to the remaining woodchuck to crouch.
- In the surrounding debris of apartment blocks more militia would be crouched, forming the outer defence ring of the beleaguered stronghold.
- Leif, the beggar, was crouched in the inglenook, stuffing his mouth full of richly sauced venison.
- The sparrows in the ploughland were crouching in terror of the kestrel.
Longman Language Activatorto bend your body or part of your body► bend
Collocations to move your body forwards or move it downwards, so that you can lift something, touch something etc: · He bent and kissed the child on the head.· The doctor says no bending or lifting for at least six weeks.bend across/towards: · She bent towards me and whispered in my ear.bend your arm/knee/finger etc: · "Bend your knees!'' shouted the ski instructor.
► bend over to bend your body from the waist, usually in order to pick something up: · Lenny bent over to pick up the coins.bend over something: · My earliest memories are of my mother bending over my cot to kiss me goodnight.
► bend down to bend your body low enough to pick something up, touch the floor etc: · Sheila bent down to pick up the cat.· He was bending down tying his shoelaces.
► bow to bend your head and upper body slightly, as a formal greeting or as a sign of respect or obedience: · Archer bowed and left the stage.· All the men turned and bowed as the Emperor passed.
► crouch to bend your legs under you, in a sitting position, and lean forwards, especially in order to hide from someone: · I crouched behind a bush as the soldiers marched by.· There were six people in the clearing, crouching around the campfire.crouch down: · The plumber crouched down and looked under the sink.
► stoop to bend down low, especially to pick something up and then stand up again: · There were two letters by the door. He stooped and picked them up.· She stooped and hugged the little dog.
► curl up to lie down and bend your legs, arms, back, and neck into a circular position, so that you feel warm and comfortable: · She curled up in her bed that night, thinking of Michel.· The two cats curled up together in the armchair.· I was so tired all I wanted to do was curl up and watch TV.
► double up/over to suddenly bend your body at the waist, especially because you are laughing or in pain: · We doubled over, laughing so hard it hurt.be doubled up/over with: · He was doubled up with cramps from the greasy stew.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► down
1 (also crouch down) to lower your body close to the ground by bending your knees completely → squat: · Yanto crouched down and peered under the wagon.· Not crouched down into the starting blocks with her fingertips pressed so lightly on to the oven red brick track.· She clambered over the side of the last truck and crouched down out of sight.· In mid-sentence, they halt, then bend or crouch down and bury their noses in the clusters of blossoms.· Pausing outside his living room door, he switched on the hall light and crouched down on his knees.· Well, anyway, you see old Arthur there crouch down, muscles quivering.· Culley had climbed a small bluff and crouched down on his heels to clear the skyline.· Sailing inside the Boom By crouching down, you can rise up inside the boom and rest your back on it.
► over· A man, his face washed in an eerie red glow, was crouched over a fruit-machine.· Left alone, Breeze crouched over the dying embers and tried to realize that this was Christmas Eve.· I pictured nocturnal gamblers crouching over their cards, sleepless lovers writing letters, nurses sitting by the beds of invalids.· Vron crouched over a flat mirror.· A man was crouching over her, a knife in his hand.· She crouched over the bag, untied the knotted corners and peered in.· He moved closer, crouching over the boy.· When he looked again he saw a black shape on the ground, another black shape crouching over it.
► there· It was a bad moment as she crouched there, looking at him.· It crouched there, as snug as a contented cat, catching the sunshine full on its face.· Waiting for me down on the sands - a great hulking shape, crouching there, darker than darkness.· Well, anyway, you see old Arthur there crouch down, muscles quivering.· The floor was hard and cold and her knees throbbed with pain, but still she crouched there.· As he screamed, the fleshless man climbed on to his chest and crouched there, the wizened head darting to his throat.· And then Murtach was crouched there naked in the night, watching him.· He had a heavy-shouldered hunched look, as if he were crouching there as he lay.
NOUN► corner· The mad girl crouching in the corner with her frock up and the unforgivable substance coming from her mouth.· He just crouches on the corner at lunchtime and occasionally bays, like a wolf or coyote.· Mortimer crouched at the corner of the short tunnel through which Benny had entered the previous day.
► knee· Pausing outside his living room door, he switched on the hall light and crouched down on his knees.· Tony Angotti crouched so quickly his knees popped.· Prunella crouched on elbows and knees, offering herself to him again.· Loi and Trondur spent wet hour after wet hour crouched on their knees, trying to refasten the bamboos.· The figure was hooded, the head crouched low over its knees.
► man· A man was crouching over her, a knife in his hand.· The pool man was crouching beside the water, one of those men with blond hair and muscles.· After many days there was a movement behind her and she turned to see a strange-shaped man, crouching, watching.· Pushing the hair from her eyes, she sat up, staring at the man crouched down beside the fire.· Two elderly men were crouched over a naked girl who was strapped face down to some form of wooden rack.· The man ran crouching, hands on his face, into a wall and collapsed.
VERB► find· He was confronted by the 70-year-old owner who found him as he crouched on the stairs.· Some of the trainees, including Jones, found the female private crouched on the floor, shaking.· I climbed it in the dark, found Janir and crouched on the mat beside him.
He crouched in the shadows near the doorway. Paula crouched down and held her hands out to the fire.2to bend over something so that you are very near to it → leancrouch over a young girl crouched over a book—crouch noun [countable]: She dropped to the ground in a crouch.