CROUCH

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does crouch mean? 

• CROUCH (noun)
  The noun CROUCH has 1 sense:

1. the act of bending low with the limbs close to the body

  Familiarity information: CROUCH used as a noun is very rare.

• CROUCH (verb)
  The verb CROUCH has 2 senses:

1. bend one's back forward from the waist on down

2. sit on one's heels

  Familiarity information: CROUCH used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CROUCH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of bending low with the limbs close to the body

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("crouch" is a kind of...):

bending (the act of bending something)

Derivation:

crouch (bend one's back forward from the waist on down)

• CROUCH (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they crouch    ... he / she / it crouches   
Past simple: crouched   
Past participle: crouched   
-ing form: crouching   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Bend one's back forward from the waist on down

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

bend; bow; crouch; stoop

Context example:

The young man stooped to pick up the girl's purse

Hypernyms (to "crouch" is one way to...):

bend; flex (form a curve)

"Crouch" entails doing...:

change posture (undergo a change in bodily posture)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "crouch"):

squinch (crouch down)

cower; huddle (crouch or curl up)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

crouch (the act of bending low with the limbs close to the body)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Sit on one's heels

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

crouch; hunker; hunker down; scrunch; scrunch up; squat

Context example:

The children hunkered down to protect themselves from the sandstorm

Hypernyms (to "crouch" is one way to...):

sit; sit down (be seated)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

The children crouch in the rocking chair
There crouch some children in the rocking chair

 Context examples 

Miss Dartle placed herself in a chair, within view of the door, and looked downward, as if Emily were crouching on the floor before her.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Ten paces from the fringe of trees he glanced around, and waving his hand he crouched down, and was lost to sight among a belt of furze-bushes.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He could see them, beyond Spitz and to either side, half crouching for the spring, their eyes fixed upon him.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

I came upon Kelly crouching to the lee of the forecastle scuttle, his head on his knees, his arms about his head, in an attitude of unutterable despondency.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

As the man's hand approached his neck, White Fang bristled and snarled and crouched down.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The Scarecrow sat upon the Lion's back, and the big beast walked to the edge of the gulf and crouched down.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

It stood crouched, with tail between its legs, like a miserable and woe-begone dog.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

At the moment, however, we had no thought for the old chest, for our eyes were riveted upon that which crouched beside it.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There is a seal of red wax stamped with a crouching lion.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I went myself at the summons, and found a small man crouching against the pillars of the portico.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)