crane

noun

/kreɪn/

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a tall machine with a long arm, used to lift and move building materials and other heavy objectsTopics Engineeringc1, Buildingsc1
a large bird with long legs and a long neck see also blue craneTopics Birdsc2

Word Originnoun sense 1 Middle English: figuratively from crane the bird (the same sense development occurred in the related German Kran and Dutch kraan, and in French grue). The verb dates from the late 16th cent. noun sense 2 Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kraan and German Kran, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin grus and Greek geranos.

crane

verb

/kreɪn/

[intransitive, transitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they crane	/kreɪn/ /kreɪn/
he / she / it cranes	/kreɪnz/ /kreɪnz/
past simple craned	/kreɪnd/ /kreɪnd/
past participle craned	/kreɪnd/ /kreɪnd/
-ing form craning	/ˈkreɪnɪŋ/ /ˈkreɪnɪŋ/

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to lean or stretch over something in order to see something better; to stretch your neck
- (+ adv./prep.) People were craning out of the windows and waving.
- crane something She craned her neck to get a better view of the stage.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Crane is used with these nouns as the object:
head
neck
See full entry
Word Originverb Middle English: figuratively from crane the bird (the same sense development occurred in the related German Kran and Dutch kraan, and in French grue). The verb dates from the late 16th cent.