NYT Dictionary

CROOK

/kɹʊk/
NounVerbAdjectiveKRUHKGrade 3

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Meaning

A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

From Middle English croke, crok, from Old English *crōc (“hook, bend, crook”), from Proto-West Germanic *krōk, from Proto-Germanic *krōkaz (“bend, hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *greg- (“tracery, basket, bend”). Cognate with Dutch kreuk (“a bend, fold, wrinkle”), Middle Low German kroke, krake (“fold, wrinkle”), Danish krog (“crook, hook”), Swedish krok (“crook, hook”), Icelandic krókur (“hook”). Compare typologically Czech křivák (< křivý < Proto-Slavic *krivъ, whence also *krivьda).

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

criminalfelonoutlawmalefactorbendtwistturncurveaberrationadvocate

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 9 recorded puzzles:

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