crooks

Noun

crook (plural crooks)

1. A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.
   • She held the baby in the crook of her arm.
2. A bending of the knee; a genuflection.
3. A bent or curved part; a curving piece or portion (of anything).
   • the crook of a cane
4. A person who steals, lies, cheats, or does other dishonest or illegal things; a criminal; a scoundrel, scofflaw, lawbreaker, rogue, or miscreant.
   • In these early days of silent pictures, the accent was chiefly on thrills and danger as provided by supposedly unstoppable locomotives with crooks or maniacs on the footplate.1958 February, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 88

   Synonyms:

   criminal

5. (obsolete) A lock or curl of hair.
6. (obsolete) A support beam consisting of a post with a cross-beam resting upon it; a bracket or truss consisting of a vertical piece, a horizontal piece, and a strut.

See all 22 meanings of crook