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Definition of 'creak'

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creak

(krik )
Word forms: creaks, creaking, creaked
intransitive verb
If something creaks, it makes a short, high-pitched sound when it moves.
The bed-springs creaked.
The door creaked open.
Synonyms: squeak, grind, scrape, groan   More Synonyms of creak
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

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creak in American English

(krik )
verb intransitive
1. 
to make a harsh, shrill, grating, or squeaking sound, as rusted hinges do
2. 
to move slowly with or as with such a sound
noun
3. 
such a sound
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME creken, to make a sound like geese, crows, etc.; echoic var. of croken: see croak
Word Frequency

creak in American English

(krik)
intransitive verb
1. 
to make a sharp, harsh, grating, or squeaking sound
2. 
to move with creaking
transitive verb
3. 
to cause to creak
noun
4. 
a creaking sound
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019 by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
creakingly
adverb
Word origin
[1275–1325; ME creken to croak, appar. back formation from OE crǣcettan, var. of crācettan to croak]
Word Frequency

creak in British English

(kriːk )
verb
1. 
to make or cause to make a harsh squeaking sound
2. (intransitive)
to make such sounds while moving
the old car creaked along
noun
3. 
a harsh squeaking sound
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
creaky (ˈcreaky)
adjective
creakily (ˈcreakily)
adverb
creakiness (ˈcreakiness)
noun
creakingly (ˈcreakingly)
adverb
Word origin
C14: variant of croak, of imitative origin

Examples of 'creak' in a sentence
creak

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…
He became aware of a creaking sound.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
And why adopt a format that is already beginning to creak with age?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
There are creaking floorboards and views across the quad.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
We are already seeing the signs of the system creaking at the seams.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The doors now creak at low speeds over bumpy roads.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
And this comes on top of a system already creaking.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The display has a domestic character and the floorboards creak slightly.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Now the capital has eight million inhabitants and the sewers are creaking at the seams.
The Sun (2013)
In parts of the country the system is creaking at the seams.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Officials said that it would improve efficiency and transparency as well as easing the burden on an already creaking legal system.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The lifeboat is already creaking at the seams and likely to have to mount many more rescues as company failures rise.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The old knees were creaking a bit come Tuesday morning.
The Sun (2013)
At length, we return inside and he bars the creaking door before retiring to his sanctum.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The floorboards creak in all the right places, too.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The social care system was already creaking, it is now in danger of collapsing altogether.
The Sun (2013)
We heard the floorboards creaking in our room and my husband ran upstairs and caught his dad with his hand in my underwear drawer.
The Sun (2014)
That creaking sound you hear?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
My heart thumped as I suddenly heard the outside screen door slowly creak open.
Christianity Today (2000)
We'd lie awake at night, listening to the sound of the creaking bed frame straining underneath us.
The Sun (2016)
You'll see manuscript letters, her writing table and the creaking door that leads to the room where she wrote.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
If this sheath becomes inflamed, the tendon can no longer move within it and the wrist becomes painful, creaking like old leather when it is moved.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
She merely lowered her head and trudged away, feeling eyes on the back of her head, listening to the sound of creaking wheels slowly diminish behind her.
Tepper, Sheri S. A Plague of Angels (1993)

Related word partners
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door creaks
floorboards creak

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creak

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In other languages
creak

British English: creak VERB /kriːk/
If something creaks, it makes a short, high-pitched sound when it moves.
The bed-springs creaked.
  • American English: creak /ˈkrik/
  • Brazilian Portuguese: ranger
  • Chinese: 嘎吱作响
  • European Spanish: crujir
  • French: grincer
  • German: knarren
  • Italian: scricchiolare
  • Japanese: きしる
  • Korean: 삐걱거리다
  • European Portuguese: ranger
  • Spanish: crujir
  • Thai: ลั่นดังเอี๊ยด

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creak

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  • All ENGLISH words that begin with 'C'

Related terms of
creak

  • floorboards creak

Source

Definition of creak from the Collins English Dictionary
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Scrabble score
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