释义 |
crib I. \ˈkrib\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English, manger, stall, from Old English cribb manger; akin to Old High German krippa manger, Middle High German krebe basket, Old Norse kjarf bundle, sheaf, Greek griphos reed basket, Sanskrit grapsa bunch, tuft, Old English cradol cradle — more at cradle 1. a. : manger; especially : a barred or slatted manger for the feeding of hay or other bulky fodder b. obsolete : an osier or wickerwork basket c. : bin, crate, box d. archery : a box topped with netting or perforated board in which to stand arrows e. slang : safe 1 b 2. : an enclosure especially of framework: as a. : a stall for an ox or other stabled animal b. : a small bedstead with high enclosing usually slatted sides for a child; also : cradle 1a c. : a heavy supporting or strengthening framework (as for a roof or a house being moved or a shaft) d. : a frame of logs or beams to be filled with heavy material (as stones or rubble) and sunk as a foundation or retaining wall in the building of docks, piers, dams, and similar structures e. : a wooden framework with upright rods used as a drying rack f. archaic : jail g. : an enclosure in a workshop or factory where tools or supplies are issued to workers h. : a structure enclosing a water intake and filter offshore in a lake (as one of the Great Lakes) i. : an enclosure in shallow water (as at the edge of a lake) where small children may play in safety 3. a. : hut, hovel; sometimes : a small narrow room b. slang : a building (as a house or store) considered with a view to unlawful entry — used chiefly in the phrase crack a crib c. : a house of prostitution; especially : a room or shack where a prostitute plies her trade as contrasted with a more extensive establishment d. : a building usually of open or slat construction for the storing of grain (as corn) e. : caboose 3 4. a. : the cards discarded for the dealer to use in scoring in cribbage b. slang : cribbage 5. a. : a small theft : something stolen b. : plagiarism c. (1) : pony 4 (2) : a key to an understanding of a literary work; especially : an explication that follows a text line by line or page by page (3) : a phrase of probable words determining some of a cipher key d. : a device or object used for cheating in an examination 6. : crèche 3 7. chiefly Britain : lunch — used especially of the meal that a workman carries with him to eat at his place of employment 8. : something forming a barrier: as a. : weir b. : a barrier for reducing the flow of water downstream but extending only part way from shore and thence upstream so as to form a sheltered area (as for storing logs) c. : a retaining wall of logs used to protect road cuts 9. : the space between two adjacent railroad ties II. verb (cribbed ; cribbed ; cribbing ; cribs) transitive verb 1. : to confine to a small area or within narrow limits : cage, cramp, restrain < now am I cabin'd, cribbed, confined — Shakespeare > 2. a. : to provide with a crib; especially : to line or support with a framework of timber b. : to put (as grain) into a crib 3. : to surround (floating logs) with a boom and draw on to a raft 4. : pilfer, purloin, steal < put together a jet fighter with parts cribbed from all over Europe — Time > especially : to appropriate (as a passage or idea) and use as one's own : plagiarize < the screen writers were able to crib a few useful lines from Christopher Marlowe — Newsweek > intransitive verb 1. a. : steal, pilfer, plagiarize b. : to use a crib in preparing a lesson or taking an examination : cheat < pupils charged that cribbing had been going on at the school for years > 2. : crib-bite 3. slang Britain : complain, gripe |