crank1
/kraŋk
/verb [with object]
1Turn the crankshaft of (an internal combustion engine) in order to start the engine: the starter motor struggled to crank the engine move the pitch lever into the normal range and crank up the engine...
- Imagine your commanders surprise when you crank up the engine and hover over the Garage!
- Otherwise, we would still be running steam engines and have to crank up our car to start it every morning.
- ‘Later,’ he replied as he watched her climb into her small black 2000 Volkswagen Beetle and cranked the engine.
Synonyms
start, turn (over), get going
1.1Turn (a handle) in order to start an engine: the generators roared into life when he cranked the handle...
- I longingly imagined the downstairs bathroom: an old woman cranking the handle of the paper towel dispenser.
- He would crank the handle at varying rates of speed.
- You can recharge the Coleman Sentinel in any household outlet, or when the power is out, just crank the handle.
1.2 (crank something up) informal Increase the intensity of something: the volume is cranked up a notch...
- ‘Certainly, the upcoming address has cranked things up a notch,’ says a mainland military analyst.
- It got burnt cos I was impatient and cranked the heat up a notch.
- I found the CD of choice and popped it in, cranking the volume up as was my habit when I was upset.
Synonyms
increase, make larger, make bigger, make greater, add to, augment, build up, enlarge, expand, extend, raise, multiply, elevate, swell, inflate;
magnify, intensify, amplify, heighten, escalate;
worsen, make worse, exacerbate, aggravate, compound, reinforce;
improve, make better, boost, ameliorate, enhance, upgrade
informal up, jack up, hike up, hike, bump up, step up
1.3 (crank something out) informal, derogatory Produce something regularly and routinely: an army of researchers cranked out worthy studies...
- The new album was cranked out in only a few short weeks.
- Compared to the rest of the world, U.S. workers are cranking it out, pressed to do more and more.
- Last week I finally decided to sit down and crank it out, and it was maybe 3-4 days of work total.
2 (usually as adjective cranked) Give a bend to (a shaft, bar, etc.): paddle styles also vary—long, short, cranked, etc.
3 [no object] informal Inject a narcotic drug: he’s been cranking up on smack...
- They said you could come back once you stopped cranking smack.
- At least he's skiing and not cranking heroin or doing something despicable.
noun
1A part of an axle or shaft bent out at right angles, for converting reciprocal to circular motion and vice versa: a long con rod which acts as a longer lever on the crank...
- The connecting rods connected directly to a crank on the rear axle.
- The crank shaft turns the piston's up and down motion into circular motion just like a crank on a jack-in-the-box does.
- One way of detecting a bent crank or a bent pedal spindle is to pedal backwards.
Synonyms
lever, arm, bar, pedal
2 [mass noun] informal The drug methamphetamine.He's assaulting the keys like Liberace on crank....
- Think twice before banging crank.
- Several nights ago I smoked crank, its probably the 4th or 5th time I've tried it now.
Origin
Old English cranc (recorded in crancstæf, denoting a weaver's implement), related to crincan (see cringe).
The mechanical crank is found in Old English cranc recorded in crancstæf, a weaver's implement. The primary notion is ‘something bent together’ and it is related to crincan ‘to bend’, probably also the source of cringe (Middle English). Crank (early 17th century) and cranky (late 18th century) meaning an eccentric or bad-tempered person are from a dialect word originally meaning ‘weak, in poor health’.
Rhymes
crank2
/kraŋk/noun
1An eccentric person, especially one who is obsessed by a particular subject: when he first started to air his views, they labelled him a crank [as modifier]: I am used to getting crank calls from conspiracy theorists...
- I've also been labelled the ‘eccentric crank of Eldwick’ by a party with an equally cranky name.
- Their achievement is to have overcome being labelled cranks to make a real impact on the crucial environmental debate.
- The consumption of sugar still goes up despite all the fanatical attacks from health cranks.
Synonyms
eccentric, oddity, odd fellow, unorthodox person, individualist, nonconformist, free spirit, bohemian, maverick, deviant, pervert, misfit, hippy, dropout;
madman/madwoman, lunatic, psychotic;
fanatic, fan, zealot, addict, enthusiast, devotee, aficionado
informal oddball, odd/queer fish, freak, character, weirdie, weirdo, crackpot, loony, nut, nutter, nutcase, nutjob, cuckoo, head case, sicko, perv, fiend, maniac, buff, -head, a great one for
British informal one-off, odd bod
Scottish informal radge
North American informal wacko, wack, screwball, kook, geek, jock
US informal wing nut, wackadoo, wackadoodle
Australian/New Zealand informal dingbat
informal, dated case
1.1North American A bad-tempered person.In fact, he became the worst crank and complainer I have ever seen even to the point of letting his temper erupt in public....
- And everybody - save for a few old lefty cranks like me - will be content.
- Maybe I'm some old crank complaining about hills and snow and how kids should take more cod liver these days.
Mid 19th century: back-formation from cranky
2 literary A fanciful turn of speech.
Late 16th century: perhaps from a base meaning 'bent together, curled up', shared by Old English cranc (see crank1)
crank3
/kraŋk/adjective Nautical, archaic
(Of a sailing ship) liable to heel over.Imagine then, the situation of the Ranger's crew, with a top-heavy and crank ship under their feet....
- The fact that she was crank when empty would not prove her to be an unstable ship when loaded.
Origin
Early 17th century: perhaps from dialect crank 'weak, shaky' (compare with cranky or crank1).