Crank
[kræŋk]
Definition
(noun.) a hand tool consisting of a rotating shaft with parallel handle.
(verb.) bend into the shape of a crank.
(verb.) fasten with a crank.
(verb.) rotate with a crank.
(verb.) start by cranking; 'crank up the engine'.
(adj.) (used of boats) inclined to heel over easily under sail .
Inputed by Elvira--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A bent portion of an axle, or shaft, or an arm keyed at right angles to the end of a shaft, by which motion is imparted to or received from it; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. See Bell crank.
(n.) Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage.
(n.) A twist or turn in speech; a conceit consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word.
(n.) A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim; crotchet; also, a fit of temper or passion.
(n.) A person full of crotchets; one given to fantastic or impracticable projects; one whose judgment is perverted in respect to a particular matter.
(n.) A sick person; an invalid.
(n.) Sick; infirm.
(n.) Liable to careen or be overset, as a ship when she is too narrow, or has not sufficient ballast, or is loaded too high, to carry full sail.
(n.) Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated.
(n.) To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn.
Inputed by Joe
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Easy to be overset.
Editor: Patrick
Definition
adj. brisk: merry.
n. a crook or bend: a conceit in speech: a whim: (mach.) a lever or arm on a shaft driven by hand or by a connecting-rod its object being to convert reciprocating motion into rotary motion.—v.i. to move in a zizag manner.—v.t. to shape like a crank: to provide with a crank.—adj. crooked: crabbed: loose or slack.—adv. Crank′ily.—n. Crank′iness.—adj. Crank′y crooked: infirm: full of whims: cross.
adj. (naut.) liable to be upset—n. Crank′ness liability to be upset.
Checker: Phyllis
Examples
- He turned the crank, and to the astonishment of those present it said. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- An't quite so crank as ye was last night. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- The cutter was driven by a pitman from a crank shaft operated through gear wheels from the main drive wheels. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- By that arrangement there is attained the most direct application of the piston-rod to the crank, with the least loss of power. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Thus some very high wheels, with a small wheel in front, or one behind, wheels with levers in addition to the crank, etc. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- McCormick’s last named patent also covered the arrangement of the gearing and crank in front of the drive wheel, so as to balance the weight of the raker. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Near these crank case presses are located several hundred punch and drawing presses of various sizes. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Fitch’s first boat employed a system of paddles suspended by their handles from cranks, which, in revolving, gave the paddles a motion simulating that which the Indian imparts to his paddle. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- McCormick’s machine had two cutters or knives, reciprocated by cranks in opposite directions to each other. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The Greeks alone argued whether it was right to have them--and 'cranks' occasionally proposed emancipation. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- In 1855 Ernst Michaux, a French locksmith, applied, for the first time, the foot cranks and pedals to the axle of the drive wheel. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The piston rods of the engine were connected directly with cranks on the rear wheel. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The cranks of her propeller shafts, like those of the Kaiser Wilhelm and the Oceanic, are set according to the Schlick system, to reduce vibration. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Others would pull down with the crowbars and with cranks--especially cranks. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Checker: Zelig