5 PHRASE If someone says they will do something by hook or by crook , they are determined to do it, even if they have to make a great effort or use dishonest means. □ They intend to get their way, by hook or by crook.
crook|ed /krʊ k I d/
1 ADJ If you describe something as crooked , especially something that is usually straight, you mean that it is bent or twisted. □ …the crooked line of his broken nose. □ …a crooked little tree.
2 ADJ A crooked smile is uneven and bigger on one side than the other. □ Polly gave her a crooked grin. ● crook|ed|ly ADV □ Nick was smiling crookedly at her.
3 ADJ If you describe a person or an activity as crooked , you mean that they are dishonest or criminal. [INFORMAL ] □ …a crooked cop.
croon /kruː n/ (croons , crooning , crooned )
1 VERB If you croon , you sing or hum quietly and gently. □ [V ] He would much rather have been crooning in a smoky bar. □ [V n] Later in the evening, Lewis began to croon another Springsteen song.
2 VERB If one person talks to another in a soft gentle voice, you can describe them as crooning , especially if you think they are being sentimental or insincere. □ [V with quote] 'Dear boy,' she crooned, hugging him heartily. □ [V n] The man was crooning soft words of encouragement to his wife. [Also V ]
croon|er /kruː nə r / (crooners ) N‑COUNT A crooner is a male singer who sings sentimental songs, especially the love songs of the 1930s and 1940s.
crop ◆◇◇ /krɒ p/ (crops , cropping , cropped )
1 N‑COUNT Crops are plants such as wheat and potatoes that are grown in large quantities for food. □ Rice farmers here still plant and harvest their crops by hand. □ The main crop is wheat and this is grown even on the very steep slopes.
2 → see also cash crop
3 N‑COUNT The plants or fruits that are collected at harvest time are referred to as a crop . □ [+ of ] Each year it produces a fine crop of fruit. □ This year's corn crop should be about 8 percent more than last year.
4 N‑SING You can refer to a group of people or things that have appeared together as a crop of people or things. [INFORMAL ] □ [+ of ] The present crop of books and documentaries about Marilyn Monroe exploit the thirtieth anniversary of her death.
5 VERB When a plant crops , it produces fruits or parts which people want. □ [V ] Although these vegetables adapt well to our temperate climate, they tend to crop poorly.
6 VERB To crop someone's hair means to cut it short. □ [V n] She cropped her hair and dyed it blonde. ● cropped ADJ □ She had cropped grey hair.
7 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A crop is a short hairstyle. □ She had her long hair cut into a boyish crop.
8 VERB If you crop a photograph, you cut part of it off, in order to get rid of part of the picture or to be able to frame it. □ [V n] I decided to crop the picture just above the water line. □ [be V -ed + from ] Her husband was cropped from the photograph. [Also V n from n]
9 the cream of the crop → see cream
▸ crop up PHRASAL VERB If something crops up , it appears or happens, usually unexpectedly. □ [V P ] His name has cropped up at every selection meeting this season. COLLOCATIONS crop NOUN
1
noun + crop : cereal, potato, root, wheat; cash
verb + crop : harvest, produce; plant, sow; damage, destroy
3
adjective + crop : bumper, fine; agricultural, staple
4
adjective + crop : current, present
cropped /krɒ pt/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Cropped items of clothing are shorter than normal. □ Women athletes wear cropped tops and tight shorts.
2 → see also crop
crop|per /krɒ pə r / PHRASE If you say that someone has come a cropper , you mean that they have had an unexpected and embarrassing failure. [INFORMAL ] □ …internet businesses that came a cropper.
cro p top (crop tops ) N‑COUNT A crop top is a very short, usually tight, top worn by a girl or a woman.
cro|quet /kroʊ ke I , [AM ] kroʊke I / N‑UNCOUNT Croquet is a game played on grass in which the players use long wooden sticks called mallets to hit balls through metal arches.
cro|quette /kroʊke t/ (croquettes ) N‑COUNT Croquettes are small amounts of mashed potato or meat rolled in breadcrumbs and fried.
cross
➊ VERB AND NOUN USES
➋ ADJECTIVE USE
➊ cross ◆◆◇ /krɒ s, [AM ] krɔː s/ (crosses , crossing , crossed )
→ Please look at categories 16 to 21 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 VERB If you cross something such as a room, a road, or an area of land or water, you move or travel to the other side of it. If you cross to a place, you move or travel over a room, road, or area of land or water in order to reach that place. □ [V n] She was partly to blame for failing to look as she crossed the road. □ [V n] They have crossed the border into Greece and asked for political asylum. □ [V + to ] Egan crossed to the drinks cabinet and poured a Scotch. [Also V adv/prep, V + into ]
2 VERB A road, railway, or bridge that crosses an area of land or water passes over it. □ [V n] The Defford to Eckington road crosses the river half a mile outside Eckington.