Word.ws English Dictionary

crow

UK/kɹəʊ//kɹoʊ/

crow noun: a bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles; it has a harsh, croaking call. Also the alternative spelling of cro.

crow: a bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles;...
Image: Loz (L. B. Tettenborn), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

crow (plural crows)

  1. A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles; it has a harsh, croaking call.
    • Gaslark in his splendour on the golden stairs saying adieu to those three captains and their matchless armament foredoomed to dogs and crows on Salapanta Hills.1922, E.R. Eddison, The Worm Ouroborus
  2. Any of various dark-coloured nymphalid butterflies of the genus Euploea.
  3. A bar of iron with a beak, crook or claw; a bar of iron used as a lever; a crowbar.
    • He approached the humble tomb in which Antonia reposed. He had provided himself with an iron crow and a pick-axe: but this precaution was unnecessary.1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society, published 1985, page 267
    • Watt might have broken the door down, with an axe, or a crow, or a small charge of explosive, but this might have aroused Erskine's suspicions, and Watt did not want that.1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    crowbar
  4. (archaic, slang) Someone who keeps watch while their associates commit a crime; a lookout.
    • “Ay,” put in a young man, who had the reputation of being the smartest “crow” in London—“‘fishers of men,’ as the parson says.”1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of his Natural Life, Penguin, published 2009, page 53
    • By nine o'clock on the evening of November 12, 1854, Pierce had his confederates in their places. The crow, Agar's woman, lounged across the street from the Trent mansion.1975, Michael Crichton, The Great Train Robbery
  5. (historical) A gangplank (corvus) used by the Ancient Roman navy to board enemy ships.
  6. (among butchers) The mesentery of an animal.
  7. (derogatory) An ill-tempered and obstinate woman, or one who otherwise has features resembling the bird; a harpy.
    • But it helps a man along to have a wife he can be proud of. Suppose you marry some old crow. People point at her and ask, 'Who is that death's head yonder?'1899, George Horton, A Fair Brigand, H.S. Stone, page 242
    • (Mrs. Meany to Woody, from a window) "I don't care! I'm not running a pet shop."
      "Well it looks like one with an old crow in the window!"1970, Paul J. Smith, 0:13 from the start, in Woody Woodpecker: "Seal on the Loose", spoken by Woody Woodpecker (Grace Stafford)
  8. (ethnic, offensive, slang, slur) A black person.
  9. (slang) The emblem of an eagle, a sign of military rank.
    • A young petty officer that must have just received his “crow” (a single chevron, with an eagle over it) was showing off to several seamen.2002, Ed Goodrich, Riggers that Dive, page 46
    • The young man had been threatened with loss of his third class rank, his “crow,” the eagle in a petty officer's sleeve insignia.2003, Jonathan T. Malay, Seraphim Sky, page 106

Adjective

crow

  1. (uncommon) Dark black, the color of a crow; crow-black.
    • "Though her crow hair is lovely and wavy, she loathes it and craves yellow locks. Since she saw Hugh, she's given me no peace.” Sheffield's square , good-looking face shaped a grimace.1945, George Marsh, Ask No Quarter, New York, W. Morrow & Company
    • […] only her crow hair could be seen. Her appearance could not be seen as she anxiously called out, "Mother ..." The setting sun cast a dim yellow light on the interior of the house. The woman lay on her back and looked up at the beams overhead[…]2019 December 6, Shi Shuifeiyan, Escaped Consort: Hubby, Don’t Chase Me: Volume 3, Funstory, →ISBN

Verb (1)

crow (third-person singular simple present crows, present participle crowing, simple past and past participle crowed)

  1. To use a crowbar, wedge, or other implement to attempt to open a surface by leveraging force on the opposite end of the tool to pry off the connection between the two surfaces.
    • If you wanna get inside, you're gonna have to crow open that door.
    Synonyms:
    prise / prize, pry

Verb (2)

crow (third-person singular simple present crows, present participle crowing, simple past crowed or (UK) crew, past participle crowed or (UK) crew or (archaic) crown)

  1. (intransitive) To make the shrill sound characteristic of a rooster; to make a sound in this manner, either in gaiety, joy, pleasure, or defiance.
    • Yet once me thought it [the ghost of Hamlet's father] was about to ſpeake, / And lifted vp his head to motion, / Like as he would ſpeake, but euen the / The morning cocke crew lowd, and in all haſte / It ſhrunke in haſte away, and vaniſhed / Our ſight.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell...
    • This is the Cock that crowed in the Morn[.]1784, The House that Jack Built, page 8
  2. (intransitive) To shout in exultation or defiance; to brag.
    • He’s been crowing all day about winning the game of cards.
    • Touting its sponsorship of local engineering and sustainability programs, Amazon crows about such “investments” as its dog park, playing fields, art installations, and Buckyball-reminiscent domical gardens.2017 September 27, Julianne Tveten, “Zucktown, USA”, in The Baffler
  3. (intransitive) To test the reed of a double reed instrument by placing the reed alone in the mouth and blowing it.

Noun (2)

crow (plural crows)

  1. The cry or call of a rooster or a cockerel, especially as heard at sunrise.

Noun (3) capitalized: Crow

Crow (plural Crows or Crow)

  1. A member of a Native American tribe of southern Montana.
    • He became a captive of a small raiding party of Crow Indians.1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, A Man Called Horse; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 171

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Crow

Crow

  1. The Siouan language of this tribe.
    Synonyms:
    Absaroki

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Crow

Crow

  1. A surname.

Also used as

crow is also the alternative spelling of cro.

crow meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

crow in Hindi

any bird of the genus Corvus
कौआ kauā, कौवा kauvā, काग kāg, काक kāk

crow in Tamil

any bird of the genus Corvus
காகம் kākam, காக்கா kākkā, காக்கை kākkai

crow in Marathi

any bird of the genus Corvus
कावळा kāvḷā

crow in Urdu

any bird of the genus Corvus
کوا kauā
More languagesFewer languages
crow in Bengali
কাক kak
crow in Telugu
కాకి kāki
crow in Malayalam
കാക്ക kākka
crow in Kannada
ಕಾಗೆ kāge
crow in Punjabi
ਬਾਂਗ, بان٘گ bāṉg, ਕਾਂ, کاں kāṉ
crow in Gujarati
કાગડો kāgḍo
crow in Odia
କାକ kāka
crow in Sanskrit
काकः kākaḥ
crow in Sinhala
කපුටා kapuṭā
crow in Assamese
কাউৰী kauri, কোৱা küa
crow in Nepali
काग kāg, बास्नु bāsnu
crow in Pashto
تبخۍ tabaxǝ́y, زاغچکه zāǧčáka, کاغی kãǧay, کارغه kārǧə
crow in Tagalog
tilaok, uwák
crow in Arabic
غُرَاب ḡurāb, زَاغ zāḡ, صَاحَ ṣāḥa
crow in Malay
gagak, gauk, berkokok
crow in Indonesian
burung gagak, gagak
crow in Persian
قوقولیقوقو ququli-ququ, کلاغ kalâġ, غراب ġorâb, قوقولیقوقو کردن ququli-ququ kardan
crow in Thai
กา gaa, ขัน kǎn
crow in Vietnamese
quạ, gáy
crow in Myanmar
ကျီး kyi:, ကျီးကန်း kyi:kan:

Examples of crow in a sentence

  • 'You are that Psyche' Cyril said again / 'The mother of the sweetest little maid, / That ever crow'd for kisses.'1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Part II”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 37:
  • He kicked, and crowed, and sputtered, when his mother took him, and put up his little fingers to clutch her hair, and was to her as a young god upon the earth.1869 May, Anthony Trollope, “Lady Milborough as Ambassador”, in He Knew He Was Right, volume I, London: Strahan and Company, […], →OCLC...
  • Hearing the miner's footsteps, the baby would put up his arms and crow.1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter III, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part I, page 48:
  • When your rooster crows at the break o' dawn / Look out your window and I'll be gone.1962, Bob Dylan, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”, in The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan:

All 40 example sentences with crow

Synonyms of crow

21 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of crow

Forms of crow

Noun
pluralcrows
pluralCrows
pluralCrow
Verb
third-person singular presentcrows
present participlecrowing
past participlecrowed
pastcrowed
past UKcrew
past participle UKcrew
past participle (archaic)crown

Past tense of crow: crowed

Plural of crow: crows

Origin of crow

From Middle English crowe, from Old English crāwe, from Proto-West Germanic *krāā, from Proto-Germanic *krēǭ (compare West Frisian krie, Dutch kraai, German Krähe), from *krēaną (“to crow”). See below. The verb is a back-formation from crowbar.

The verb is from Middle English crowen, from Old English crāwan (past tense crēow, past participle crāwen), from Proto-West Germanic *krāan, from Proto-Germanic *krēaną, from imitative Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”). The noun is from Middle English crowe, from the verb. Compare Dutch kraaien, German krähen, Lithuanian gróti, Russian гра́ять (grájatʹ)). Related to croak.

From French gens de corbeaux, calque of Dakota apsáaloke (“crow people”). Compare Crow Apsáalooke.

Words formed from crow

Phrases with crow

46 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with crow

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about crow

What does crow mean?
Crow means a bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles; it has a harsh, croaking call.
What is crow in Hindi?
Crow in Hindi is कौआ (kauā), कौवा (kauvā), काग (kāg). See Crow meaning in Hindi.
How do you use crow in a sentence?
'You are that Psyche' Cyril said again / 'The mother of the sweetest little maid, / That ever crow'd for kisses.'
What part of speech is crow?
Crow can be a noun, an adjective, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce crow?
Crow is pronounced /kɹəʊ/ (UK).
What is the plural of crow?
The plural of crow is crows.

Words near crow in the dictionary

  1. crouzeliine
  2. Crouzon
  3. Crouzon syndrome
  4. crouzonodermoskeletal syndrome
  5. crovalimab
  6. crow
  7. Crow Agency
  8. crow cage
  9. crow cages
  10. crow eater
  11. crow eaters

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: crow (page history and authors); Crow (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-crow.ogg.

Cite this entry: “crow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/crow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.