croak
1 of 2verb
ˈkrōk 
croaked; croaking; croaks
intransitive verb
1
a
: to make a deep harsh sound
b
: to speak in a hoarse throaty voice
2
: grumble sense 1
3
slang : die
transitive verb
1
: to utter in a hoarse raucous voice
2
slang : kill
croak
2 of 2noun
: a hoarse harsh cry or sound
croaky
ˈkrō-kē
adjective 
Synonyms
Verb
- beef
- bellyache
- bitch
- bleat
- carp
- caterwaul
- complain
- crab
- fuss
- gripe
- grizzle
- grouch
- grouse
- growl
- grumble
- grump
- holler
- inveigh
- keen
- kick
- kvetch
- maunder [chiefly British]
- moan
- murmur
- mutter
- nag
- repine
- scream
- squawk
- squeal
- wail
- whimper
- whine
- whinge [British]
- yammer
- yawp
- yaup
- yowl
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb We could hear the frogs croaking by the pond. The man could only croak his name. He tried to speak but could barely croak. He had a heart attack and croaked.
Recent Examples on the Web
Washington Post, 28 June 2021 Frogs croaked from a nearby ditch; birds trilled from the field’s edge. Kirk Johnson, New York Times, 9 May 2020 Curtains of Spanish moss hang limply from cypress trees; frogs croak from their lily pad perches, and lazy alligators float through backwater channels. Dallas News, 4 May 2020 Mono Lake in California has a huge population of frogs that normally croak in unison to keep predators from locating and targeting individual frogs. John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Apr. 2020 There are nearly 5,000 different species of frogs hopping, croaking, and swimming across the Earth of all different shapes and sizes. Sara Kiley Watson, Popular Science, 4 Apr. 2020 Cisco croaks as Wells wraps his hands around his neck. Chancellor Agard, EW.com, 26 Sep. 2019 Watching from bare branches, ravens warbled and croaked. Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, 24 Oct. 2019 Imagine the coniferous forests of the American West and you probably picture tall trees, forest floors littered with pine needles and pinecones, black bears, mountain lions, croaking frogs, and mountain blue birds. National Geographic, 12 Aug. 2019 Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2022 Frogs croak, a skylark soars above all in dazzling pianistic glitter, grasshopper warblers rattle as their names suggest, and one reed warbler enters into a rapturous contrapuntal duet with another. Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021 Morrissey, who had an unvarnished croak for a voice and a melodic style that was very much his own, once called to his roommate from another room. BostonGlobe.com, 23 July 2011 Bullfrogs croak and Yaqui topminnows wiggle through the pool once fed solely by natural artesian wells pulling ancient water from an aquifer. Anita Snow, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Dec. 2020 The croak of thousands of invisible amphibians falls suddenly silent as the vets pass by on the way to Puntung's enclosure. Henry Nicholls, Scientific American, 30 May 2012 Bullfrogs croak and Yaqui topminnows wiggle through the pool once fed solely by natural artesian wells pulling ancient water from an aquifer. Anita Snow, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Dec. 2020 Bullfrogs croak and Yaqui topminnows wiggle through the pool once fed solely by natural artesian wells pulling ancient water from an aquifer. Anita Snow, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Dec. 2020 Bullfrogs croak and Yaqui topminnows wiggle through the pool once fed solely by natural artesian wells pulling ancient water from an aquifer. Anita Snow, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Dec. 2020 See More
Verb
For now, her two dogs, Wendy and Capitán, wait by the hamper; the roosters continue to croak; and a mother clutches her daughter’s photo in one hand and a rosary in the other. Washington Post, 28 June 2021 Frogs croaked from a nearby ditch; birds trilled from the field’s edge. Kirk Johnson, New York Times, 9 May 2020 Curtains of Spanish moss hang limply from cypress trees; frogs croak from their lily pad perches, and lazy alligators float through backwater channels. Dallas News, 4 May 2020 Mono Lake in California has a huge population of frogs that normally croak in unison to keep predators from locating and targeting individual frogs. John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Apr. 2020 There are nearly 5,000 different species of frogs hopping, croaking, and swimming across the Earth of all different shapes and sizes. Sara Kiley Watson, Popular Science, 4 Apr. 2020 Cisco croaks as Wells wraps his hands around his neck. Chancellor Agard, EW.com, 26 Sep. 2019 Watching from bare branches, ravens warbled and croaked. Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, 24 Oct. 2019 Imagine the coniferous forests of the American West and you probably picture tall trees, forest floors littered with pine needles and pinecones, black bears, mountain lions, croaking frogs, and mountain blue birds. National Geographic, 12 Aug. 2019 Noun
Soon, the croak of Atlanta’s very own Wizrd filled the studio. Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2022 Frogs croak, a skylark soars above all in dazzling pianistic glitter, grasshopper warblers rattle as their names suggest, and one reed warbler enters into a rapturous contrapuntal duet with another. Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021 Morrissey, who had an unvarnished croak for a voice and a melodic style that was very much his own, once called to his roommate from another room. BostonGlobe.com, 23 July 2011 Bullfrogs croak and Yaqui topminnows wiggle through the pool once fed solely by natural artesian wells pulling ancient water from an aquifer. Anita Snow, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Dec. 2020 The croak of thousands of invisible amphibians falls suddenly silent as the vets pass by on the way to Puntung's enclosure. Henry Nicholls, Scientific American, 30 May 2012 Bullfrogs croak and Yaqui topminnows wiggle through the pool once fed solely by natural artesian wells pulling ancient water from an aquifer. Anita Snow, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Dec. 2020 Bullfrogs croak and Yaqui topminnows wiggle through the pool once fed solely by natural artesian wells pulling ancient water from an aquifer. Anita Snow, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Dec. 2020 Bullfrogs croak and Yaqui topminnows wiggle through the pool once fed solely by natural artesian wells pulling ancient water from an aquifer. Anita Snow, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Dec. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English croken, of imitative origin
First Known Use
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a
Noun
1561, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
croak 1 of 2
verb
ˈkrōk
croaked; croaking
1
: to utter with a rough low voice
"I need water," he croaked.
2
: to make a deep harsh sound
frogs croaked
croak
2 of 2noun
: a hoarse harsh sound or cry
croaking 1 of 2
adjective
as in hoarse
harsh and dry in sound a croaking voice from smoking too many cigarettes Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- hoarse
- gruff
- husky
- rasping
- raspy
- gravelly
- croaky
- gravel
- growling
- throaty
- rusty
- grating
- scratchy
- coarse
- screeching
- choked
- squawking
- guttural
- scratching
- grinding
- strangled
- scraping
- cawing
- strained
- strident
- discordant
- raucous
- jarring
- cracked
- abrasive
- growly
- cacophonous
- dissonant
- unmusical
- rough
- unmelodious
- inharmonious
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- mellifluous
- sweet
- soothing
- liquid
- gentle
- golden
- mellow
- tender
- soft
- gliding
- melodious
- smooth
- mellifluent
- musical
- velvety
- silken
- melodic
- lyric
- lyrical
- euphonious
- satiny
croaking
2 of 2verb
1
as in screaming
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely the cranky patient was always croaking to the nurses about something Synonyms & Similar Words
- screaming
- complaining
- muttering
- moaning
- whining
- growling
- squawking
- murmuring
- squealing
- whimpering
- caterwauling
- grumbling
- wailing
- yammering
- hollering
- yowling
- kicking
- crying
- keening
- yawping
- carping
- bleating
- inveighing
- nagging
- bellyaching
- bitching
- worrying
- grousing
- kvetching
- grizzling
- maundering
- griping
- grouching
- whinging
- repining
- grumping
- beefing
- whingeing
- protesting
- yauping
- crabbing
- sobbing
- fussing
- kicking up a stink
- kicking up a fuss
- blubbering
- stewing
- caviling
- quibbling
- bewailing
- lamenting
- fretting
- cavilling
- deploring
- bemoaning
- quarrelling (with)
- quarreling (with)
- objecting (to)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- rejoicing
- delighting
- crowing
- enduring
- accepting
- taking
- tolerating
- bearing
- applauding
- countenancing
- commending
- cheering
2
as in dying
slang to stop living I wouldn't go around saying your great-grandmother "croaked" Synonyms & Similar Words
- dying
- falling
- perishing
- succumbing
- departing
- disappearing
- exiting
- fading
- deceasing
- ending
- demising
- parting
- flatlining
- dropping
- checking out
- expiring
- popping off
- stepping out
- kicking off
- buying it
- going
- passing away
- kicking in
- pegging out
- snuffing it
- buying the farm
- conking (out)
- failing
- passing (on)
- kicking the bucket
- biting the dust
- giving up the ghost
- consuming
- predeceasing
- drying up
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- breathing
- living
- reviving
- lingering
- being
- existing
- subsisting
- flourishing
- prospering
- thriving
- coming to
3
as in killing
slang to deprive of life "I croaked the old bugger," he bragged Synonyms & Similar Words
- killing
- destroying
- slaying
- murdering
- dispatching
- taking
- slaughtering
- claiming
- felling
- carrying off
- assassinating
- whacking
- snuffing
- butchering
- wasting
- doing for
- smiting
- massacring
- annihilating
- doing in
- decimating
- offing
- cutting down
- neutralizing
- executing
- mowing
- getting
- scragging
- finishing
- euthanizing
- martyring
- terminating
- killing off
- rubbing out
- icing
- knocking off
- blotting out
- taking out
- making away with
- putting away
- doing away with
- bumping off
- suiciding
- euthanatizing
- putting down
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- raising
- reviving
- restoring
- animating
- resurrecting
- resuscitating
- nurturing
4
as in murdering
slang to put to death deliberately hooligans had croaked the street corner wino just for the hell of it Synonyms & Similar Words
- murdering
- assassinating
- slaying
- executing
- killing
- whacking
- snuffing
- getting
- dispatching
- slaughtering
- offing
- neutralizing
- terminating
- destroying
- liquidating
- shooting
- rubbing out
- icing
- knocking off
- taking out
- putting away
- bumping off
- smiting
- doing in
- zapping
- massacring
- butchering
- cutting down
- exterminating
- claiming
- shooting down
- eliminating
- eradicating
- annihilating
- blowing away
- felling
- carrying off
- blotting out
- doing away with
- wiping out
- mowing (down)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- raising
- reviving
- restoring
- resurrecting
- resuscitating
- animating