Collins Dictionaries - Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary

NOUN 2 a small crease or fold

cripple cripples, crippling, crippled

VERB If someone is crippled by something, they are injured so severely that they can never move properly again.

crippling ADJECTIVE

crisis crises

NOUN a serious or dangerous situation • The food crisis was caused by drought.

crisp crisper, crispest; crisps

ADJECTIVE 1 pleasantly fresh and firm • crisp lettuce leaves

NOUN 2 a thin slice of potato that has been fried until it is hard and crunchy

critic critics

NOUN 1 someone who writes reviews of books, films, plays or musical performances for newspapers or magazines

2 a person who criticizes someone or something publicly

critical

ADJECTIVE 1 A critical time or situation is a very important and serious one when things must be done correctly.

2 If the state of a sick or injured person is critical, they are in danger of dying.

3 Someone who is critical judges people and things very severely.

criticism criticisms

NOUN 1 spoken or written disapproval of someone or something

2 A criticism of a book, film or play is an examination of its good and bad points.

criticize criticizes, criticizing, criticized; also spelt criticise

VERB If you criticize someone or something, you say what you think is wrong with them.

croak croaks, croaking, croaked

VERB 1 When animals and birds croak, they make harsh, low sounds.

NOUN 2 a harsh, low sound

croaky ADJECTIVE

crochet crochets, crocheting, crocheted

Said “kroh-shay” NOUN 1 a kind of knitting done with a hooked needle and cotton or wool

VERB 2 If you crochet, you use a hooked needle and wool or cotton to make lacy material for things such as clothes and shawls.

crockery

NOUN things you use for eating and drinking, such as plates, cups, bowls and saucers

crocodile crocodiles

NOUN a large, scaly, meat-eating reptile that lives in tropical rivers

[from Greek krokodeilos meaning lizard]

crocus crocuses

NOUN Crocuses are yellow, purple or white flowers that grow in early spring.

crook crooks

NOUN 1 a criminal

2 The crook of your arm or leg is the soft, inside part of your elbow or your knee.

3 a long stick with a hooked end used by shepherds

crooked

ADJECTIVE 1 bent or twisted

2 dishonest

crop crops, cropping, cropped

NOUN 1 plants such as wheat and potatoes that are grown for food

2 the plants collected at harvest time • They gather two crops of rice a year.

VERB 3 If you crop something such as your hair, you cut it very short.

cross crosses, crossing, crossed; crosser, crossest

VERB 1 If you cross something, such as a room or a road, you go to the other side of it.

2 Lines or roads that cross meet and go across each other.

3 If you cross your arms, legs or fingers, you put one on top of the other.

NOUN 4 a mark or a shape like + or ×

ADJECTIVE 5 Someone who is cross is rather angry.

cross out

VERB If you cross out words on a page, you draw a line through them.

cross-country

NOUN the sport of running across open countryside, rather than on roads or a track

crossing crossings

NOUN 1 a place where you can cross the road, a railway or a river

2 a journey by ship to a place across the sea

crossroads

NOUN a place where two roads meet and cross each other

cross-section cross-sections

NOUN 1 the flat part of something that you see when you cut straight through it to see inside • We looked at cross-sections of kiwi fruit and oranges.

2 a typical sample of people or things • We interviewed a cross-section of teenagers.

crossword crosswords

NOUN a word puzzle in which you work out answers to clues and write them in a grid

crouch crouches, crouching, crouched

VERB If you crouch, you lower your body with your knees bent.

crow crows, crowing, crowed

NOUN 1 a large black bird that makes a loud, harsh sound

VERB 2 When a cock crows, it makes a series of loud sounds, usually early in the morning.

crowbar crowbars

NOUN a heavy, iron bar used as a lever or for forcing things open

crowd crowds, crowding, crowded

NOUN 1 a large group of people gathered together

VERB 2 When people crowd around someone or something, they gather closely together around them.

crown crowns, crowning, crowned

NOUN 1 a circular ornament made of gold or jewels, which a king or queen wears on their head

VERB 2 When a king or queen is crowned, a crown is put on their head and they are officially made king or queen.

crucial

ADJECTIVE Something that is crucial is very important.

crucify crucifies, crucifying, crucified

VERB When a person is crucified they are tied or nailed to a cross and left there to die.

crucifixion NOUN

crude cruder, crudest

ADJECTIVE 1 rough and simple • a crude shelter made of old boxes

2 rude and vulgar

cruel crueller, cruellest

ADJECTIVE Cruel people deliberately cause pain or distress to other people or to animals.

SYNONYMS: brutal, unkind

cruelly ADVERB cruelty NOUN

cruise cruises, cruising, cruised

NOUN 1 a holiday in which you travel on a ship and visit places

VERB 2 When a vehicle cruises, it moves at a constant, moderate speed.

crumb crumbs

NOUN a very small piece of bread or cake

crumble crumbles, crumbling, crumbled

VERB When something crumbles, or when you crumble it, it breaks into small pieces.

crumple crumples, crumpling, crumpled

VERB If you crumple paper or cloth, you squash it so that it is full of creases and folds.

crunch crunches, crunching, crunched

VERB If you crunch something, you crush it noisily, for example between your teeth or under your feet.

crusade crusades

NOUN 1 In the Middle Ages, the Crusades were a number of expeditions to Palestine by Christians who were attempting to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims.

2 a long and determined attempt to achieve something

[from Spanish cruzar meaning to take up the cross]

crusader NOUN

crush crushes, crushing, crushed

VERB 1 If you crush something, you squeeze it hard until its shape is destroyed. • He crushed the empty can.

2 If you crush against someone or something, you press hard against them. • We crushed against each other in the crowded bus.

crust crusts

NOUN 1 the hard outside part of a loaf

2 a hard layer on top of something • the earth’s crust

crustacean crustaceans

Said “krus-tay-shun” NOUN an animal with a hard outer shell and several pairs of legs, which usually lives in water • Crabs, lobsters and shrimps are crustaceans.

crutch crutches

NOUN a support like a long stick that you lean on if you have injured your leg or foot • I was on crutches while my ankle healed.

cry cries, crying, cried

VERB 1 When you cry, tears come from your eyes because you are unhappy or hurt.

2 If you cry something, you shout it or say it loudly.

NOUN 3 a shout or other loud sound made with your voice

crypt crypts

NOUN an underground room beneath a church, usually used as a burial place

crystal crystals

NOUN 1 a piece of a mineral that has formed naturally into a regular shape

2 a type of transparent rock, used in jewellery

3 a type of very high quality glass

crystalline ADJECTIVE

cub cubs

NOUN 1 the young of some wild animals • a fox cub • a lion cub

2 The Cubs is an organization for young boys before they join the Scouts.

cube cubes

NOUN a solid shape with six square faces that are all the same size

cubic