crock

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈkräk 

1

: a thick earthenware pot or jar

2

[from its formation on cooking pots] dialect : soot, smut

3

: coloring matter that rubs off from cloth or dyed leather

4

: bunkum

—usually used with a

the story in the paper is a crock

crock

2 of 4

verb (1)

crocked; crocking; crocks

transitive verb

1

: to put or preserve in a crock

2

dialect : to soil with crock : smudge

intransitive verb

: to transfer color (as when rubbed or washed)

a suede that will not crock

crock

3 of 4

noun (2)

1

: one that is broken-down, disabled, or impaired

so many old … crocks with one foot in the grave

—Angus Wilson

2

slang : a complaining medical patient whose illness is largely imaginary or psychosomatic

crock

4 of 4

verb (2)

crocked; crocking; crocks

transitive verb

: to cause to become disabled

intransitive verb

: break down

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• applesauce [slang]
• balderdash
• baloney
• boloney
• beans
• bilge
• blah
• blah-blah
• blarney
• blather
• blatherskite
• blither
• bosh
• bull [slang]
• bunk
• bunkum
• buncombe
• claptrap
• codswallop [British]
• crapola [slang]
• drivel
• drool
• fiddle
• fiddle-faddle
• fiddlesticks
• flannel [British]
• flapdoodle
• folderol
• falderal
• folly
• foolishness
• fudge
• garbage
• guff
• hogwash
• hokeypokey
• hokum
• hoodoo
• hooey
• horsefeathers [slang]
• humbug
• humbuggery
• jazz
• malarkey
• malarky
• moonshine
• muck
• nerts [slang]
• nonsense
• nuts
• piffle
• poppycock
• punk
• rot
• rubbish
• senselessness
• silliness
• slush
• stupidity
• taradiddle
• tarradiddle
• tommyrot
• tosh
• trash
• trumpery
• twaddle

Examples of crock in a Sentence

Noun (1)

that whole thing about how surprised she was to win the award was a crock

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Preceding Unger’s piece is a series of vases that transition from the more functional—Marguerite Wildenhain’s 1966 stoneware crock—to Peter Voulkos’s Sibley, a wonderfully misshapen vessel from 1992. —Grace Edquist, Vogue, 20 June 2024

The Gumbo Pot Under the kitchen island is a collection of innocuous-seeming cookware, but the big brown pot, a Disney imagineer revealed to PEOPLE, is the crock Tiana and her father make gumbo in at the beginning of the movie. —Staff Author, Peoplemag, 12 June 2024

The fish fry meal comes with soup (French onion, soup of the day, or crock of baked French onion topped with melty cheese for a $1.99 upcharge), coleslaw, slice of rye bread and choice of potato (potato pancakes, baked potato, french fries or potato salad). —Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 20 Feb. 2024

Some of the more common items that move through the warehouse are crock pots, air fryers, paper towels, toilet paper, dog food and cat food, Abundis said. —Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English crocc; akin to Old English crūce pot, pitcher, Middle High German krūche

Noun (2)

Middle English crok; akin to Low German krakke broken-down horse

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1594, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1528, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1839, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

crock

1 of 2 noun

ˈkräk 

: a pot or jar made of baked clay

crock

2 of 2 noun

: one that is broken-down or useless

Medical Definition

crock

noun

ˈkräk 

slang

: a complaining medical patient whose illness is largely imaginary or psychosomatic