Adjacent Words

Creek definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CREEK, v.t. To make a harsh sharp noise. [See Creak.]
CREEK, n. [See Crack.]
1. A small inlet, bay or cove; a recess in the shore of the sea, or of a river.
They discovered a certain creek with a shore. Acts 27.
2. Any turn in winding.
3. A prominence or jut in a winding coast. [This sense is probably not legitimate.]
4. In some of the American States, a small river. This sense is not justified by etymology, but as streams often enter into creeks and small bays or form them, the name has been extended to small streams in general.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river); "the creek dried up every summer" [syn: brook, creek]
2: any member of the Creek Confederacy (especially the Muskogee) formerly living in Georgia and Alabama but now chiefly in Oklahoma

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English crike, creke, from Old Norse -kriki bend Date: 13th century 1. chiefly British a small inlet or bay narrower and extending farther inland than a cove 2. a natural stream of water normally smaller than and often tributary to a river 3. archaic a narrow or winding passage

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1725 1. an American Indian confederacy of peoples chiefly of Muskogean stock of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida 2. a member of any of the Creek peoples 3. the Muskogean language of the Creek Indians

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 Brit. a a small bay or harbour on a sea-coast. b a narrow inlet on a sea-coast or in a river-bank. 2 esp. US a tributary of a river; a stream. 3 Austral. & NZ a stream or brook. Phrases and idioms: up the creek sl. 1 in difficulties or trouble. 2 crazy. Etymology: ME crike f. ON kriki nook (or partly f. OF crique f. ON), & ME creke f. MDu. kreke (or f. crike by lengthening): ult. orig. unkn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Creeks Creeks (kr[=e]ks), n. pl.; sing. Creek. (Ethnol.) A tribe or confederacy of North American Indians, including the Muskogees, Seminoles, Uchees, and other subordinate tribes. They formerly inhabited Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Creek Creek (kr[=e]k), n. [AS. crecca; akin to D. kreek, Icel. kriki crack, nook; cf. W. crig crack, crigyll ravine, creek. Cf. Crick, Crook.] 1. A small inlet or bay, narrower and extending further into the land than a cove; a recess in the shore of the sea, or of a river. Each creek and cavern of the dangerous shore. --Cowper. They discovered a certain creek, with a shore. --Acts xxvii. 39. 2. A stream of water smaller than a river and larger than a brook. Lesser streams and rivulets are denominated creeks. --Goldsmith. 3. Any turn or winding. The passages of alleys, creeks, and narrow lands. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(creeks) 1. A creek is a narrow place where the sea comes a long way into the land. (BRIT) N-COUNT: oft in names 2. A creek is a small stream or river. (AM) Follow Austin Creek for a few miles. N-COUNT: oft in names 3. If someone is up the creek, they are in a bad or difficult situation, or are wrong in some way. You can also say that someone is up the creek without a paddle. (INFORMAL) PHRASE: v-link PHR

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

krek, colloq. krik (kolpos (Ac 27:39), the Revised Version (British and American) "bay"): The spot has been identified as the traditional Bay of Paul about 8 miles Northwest of the town of Valetta in the island of Malta.

See MELITA.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Inlet, cove, bight, small bay. 2. Rivulet, small river.

Moby Thesaurus

adolescent stream, arm, armlet, arroyo, bay, bayou, beck, belt, bight, boca, bourn, braided stream, branch, brook, brooklet, burn, channel, cove, crawl, creep, crick, ditch, edge, estuary, euripus, fjord, flowing stream, fluviation, fresh, freshet, frith, gill, glide, gulf, gumshoe, gut, harbor, inch, inlet, kill, kyle, lazy stream, loch, lurk, meandering stream, midchannel, midstream, millstream, mouse, mouth, moving road, narrow, narrow seas, narrows, natural harbor, navigable river, pussyfoot, race, racing stream, reach, rill, river, rivulet, road, roads, roadstead, run, rundle, runlet, runnel, shirk, sike, skulk, slide, slink, slip, slither, snake, sneak, sniggle, sound, spill stream, steal, strait, straits, stream, stream action, streamlet, subterranean river, tiptoe, wadi, watercourse, waterway, wriggle