crooked

[kroo k-id for 1-4, 6; kroo kt for 5] /ˈkrʊk ɪd for 1-4, 6; krʊkt for 5/
adjective
1.
not straight; bending; curved:
a crooked path.
2.
askew; awry:
The picture on the wall seems to be crooked.
3.
deformed:
a man with a crooked back.
4.
not straightforward; dishonest.
5.
bent and often raised or moved to one side, as a finger or neck.
6.
(of a coin) polygonal:
a crooked sixpence.
Origin
1200-50; Middle English croked; see crook1, -ed2
Related forms
crookedly, adverb
crookedness, noun
uncrooked, adjective
uncrookedly, adverb
Synonyms
1. winding, devious, sinuous, flexuous, tortuous, spiral, twisted. 3. misshapen. 4. unscrupulous, knavish, tricky, fraudulent.

crook1

[kroo k] /krʊk/
noun
1.
a bent or curved implement, piece, appendage, etc.; hook.
2.
the hooked part of anything.
3.
an instrument or implement having a bent or curved part, as a shepherd's staff hooked at one end or the crosier of a bishop or abbot.
4.
a dishonest person, especially a sharper, swindler, or thief.
5.
a bend, turn, or curve:
a crook in the road.
6.
the act of crooking or bending.
7.
a pothook.
8.
Also called shank. a device on some musical wind instruments for changing the pitch, consisting of a piece of tubing inserted into the main tube.
verb (used with object)
9.
to bend; curve; make a crook in.
10.
Slang. to steal, cheat, or swindle:
She crooked a ring from that shop.
verb (used without object)
11.
to bend; curve.
Origin
1125-75; Middle English crok(e) < Old Norse krāka hook
Examples from the web for crooked
  • We're hitting a tiny ball with insanely crooked sticks.
  • His chosen cause is the repatriation of billions of dollars supposedly stashed abroad by the rich and crooked.
  • Water and sewer lines were buried beneath the crooked lanes.
  • The idea that surgically straightening crooked veins could somehow benefit a degenerative nerve problem was astounding.
  • But he lost out in the nationals, perhaps because his car might have been crooked in the starting block.
  • Check to make sure the screen material is not crooked.
  • Low salaries for police officers combined with broad authorities yielded a wave of crooked cops.
  • While scrubbing himself clean, two crooked cops are getting themselves dirtier.
  • One test will be the number of allegedly crooked ministers he boots out of the cabinet.
  • One had a straight tail and the other a crooked tail.
British Dictionary definitions for crooked

crooked

/ˈkrʊkɪd/
adjective
1.
bent, angled or winding
2.
set at an angle; not straight
3.
deformed or contorted
4.
(informal) dishonest or illegal
5.
(Austral, informal) crooked on (also) (krʊkt). hostile or averse to
Derived Forms
crookedly, adverb
crookedness, noun

crook

/krʊk/
noun
1.
a curved or hooked thing
2.
a staff with a hooked end, such as a bishop's crosier or shepherd's staff
3.
a turn or curve; bend
4.
(informal) a dishonest person, esp a swindler or thief
5.
the act or an instance of crooking or bending
6.
Also called shank. a piece of tubing added to a brass instrument in order to obtain a lower harmonic series
verb
7.
to bend or curve or cause to bend or curve
adjective
8.
(Austral & NZ, informal)
  1. ill
  2. of poor quality
  3. unpleasant; bad
9.
(Austral & NZ, informal) go crook, go off crook, to lose one's temper
10.
(Austral & NZ, informal) go crook at, go crook on, to rebuke or upbraid
Word Origin
C12: from Old Norse krokr hook; related to Swedish krok, Danish krog hook, Old High German krācho hooked tool
Word Origin and History for crooked

crook

n.

early 13c., "hook-shaped instrument or weapon," from Old Norse krokr "hook, corner," cognate with Old High German kracho "hooked tool," of obscure origin but perhaps related to a widespread group of Germanic kr- words meaning "bent, hooked." Meaning "swindler" is American English, 1879, from crooked in figurative sense of "dishonest" (1708). Crook "dishonest trick" was in Middle English.

Slang definitions & phrases for crooked

crooked

adjective

Dishonest; fraudulent;

[1870s+; Attested from 1225 in the larger sense ''immoral, perverse, not orthodox'']


crook

noun

A habitual or professional criminal; a consistently dishonest person: The chief said, ''I'm not a crook'' (1870s+)

verb

To steal: He crooked my socks (1940s+)


Idioms and Phrases with crooked

crook

In addition to the idioms beginning with crook crook one's elbow also see: by hook or crook
Encyclopedia Article for crooked

crook

in brass musical instruments, detachable piece of metal tubing inserted between the mouthpiece and the main tubing or in the middle of the tubing to lengthen the air column produced. This manipulation allows the player to obtain notes not included in the harmonic series of the original air column. Crooks were in use at least by about 1600 and were used extensively by the late 18th century. They were superseded in the 19th century by valves, which, unlike crooks, allowed instantaneous changes in basic air-column pitch

Learn more about crook with a free trial on Britannica.com