Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary. Collins Dictionaries

crisper, crispest; crisps

      ADJECTIVE 1 pleasantly fresh and firm • crisp lettuce leaves

      NOUN 2 a thin slice of potato that has been fried until it is hard and crunchy

      critic critics

      NOUN 1 someone who writes reviews of books, films, plays or musical performances for newspapers or magazines

      2 a person who criticizes someone or something publicly

      critical

      ADJECTIVE 1 A critical time or situation is a very important and serious one when things must be done correctly.

      2 If the state of a sick or injured person is critical, they are in danger of dying.

      3 Someone who is critical judges people and things very severely.

      criticism criticisms

      NOUN 1 spoken or written disapproval of someone or something

      2 A criticism of a book, film or play is an examination of its good and bad points.

      criticize criticizes, criticizing, criticized; also spelt criticise

      VERB If you criticize someone or something, you say what you think is wrong with them.

      croak croaks, croaking, croaked

      VERB 1 When animals and birds croak, they make harsh, low sounds.

      NOUN 2 a harsh, low sound

      croaky ADJECTIVE

      crochet crochets, crocheting, crocheted

      Said “kroh-shay” NOUN 1 a kind of knitting done with a hooked needle and cotton or wool

      VERB 2 If you crochet, you use a hooked needle and wool or cotton to make lacy material for things such as clothes and shawls.

      crockery

      NOUN things you use for eating and drinking, such as plates, cups, bowls and saucers

      crocodile crocodiles

      NOUN a large, scaly, meat-eating reptile that lives in tropical rivers

      [from Greek krokodeilos meaning lizard]

      crocus crocuses

      NOUN Crocuses are yellow, purple or white flowers that grow in early spring.

      crook crooks

      NOUN 1 a criminal

      2 The crook of your arm or leg is the soft, inside part of your elbow or your knee.

      3 a long stick with a hooked end used by shepherds

      crooked

      ADJECTIVE 1 bent or twisted

      2 dishonest

      crop crops, cropping, cropped

      NOUN 1 plants such as wheat and potatoes that are grown for food

      2 the plants collected at harvest time • They gather two crops of rice a year.

      VERB 3 If you crop something such as your hair, you cut it very short.

      cross crosses, crossing, crossed; crosser, crossest

      VERB 1 If you cross something, such as a room or a road, you go to the other side of it.

      2 Lines or roads that cross meet and go across each other.

      3 If you cross your arms, legs or fingers, you put one on top of the other.

      NOUN 4 a mark or a shape like + or ×

      ADJECTIVE 5 Someone who is cross is rather angry.

      cross out

      VERB If you cross out words on a page, you draw a line through them.

      cross-country

      NOUN the sport of running across open countryside, rather than on roads or a track

      crossing crossings

      NOUN 1 a place where you can cross the road, a railway or a river

      2 a journey by ship to a place across the sea

      crossroads

      NOUN a place where two roads meet and cross each other

      cross-section cross-sections

      NOUN 1 the flat part of something that you see when you cut straight through it to see inside • We looked at cross-sections of kiwi fruit and oranges.

      2 a typical sample of people or things • We interviewed a cross-section of teenagers.

      crossword crosswords

      NOUN a word puzzle in which you work out answers to clues and write them in a grid

      crouch crouches, crouching, crouched

      VERB If you crouch, you lower your body with your knees bent.

      crow crows, crowing, crowed

      NOUN 1 a large black bird that makes a loud, harsh sound

      VERB 2 When a cock crows, it makes a series of loud sounds, usually early in the morning.

      crowbar crowbars

      NOUN a heavy, iron bar used as a lever or for forcing things open

      crowd crowds, crowding, crowded

      NOUN 1 a large group of people gathered together

      VERB 2 When people crowd around someone or something, they gather closely together around them.

      crown crowns, crowning, crowned

      NOUN 1 a circular ornament made of gold or jewels, which a king or queen wears on their head

      VERB 2 When a king or queen is crowned, a crown is put on their head and they are officially made king or queen.

      crucial

      ADJECTIVE Something that is crucial is very important.

      crucify crucifies, crucifying, crucified

      VERB When a person is crucified they are tied or nailed to a cross and left there to die.

      crucifixion NOUN

      crude cruder, crudest

      ADJECTIVE 1 rough and simple • a crude shelter made of old boxes

      2 rude and vulgar

      cruel crueller, cruellest

      ADJECTIVE Cruel people deliberately cause pain or distress to other people or to animals.

      SYNONYMS: brutal, unkind

      cruelly ADVERB cruelty NOUN

      cruise cruises, cruising, cruised

      NOUN 1 a holiday in which you travel on a ship and visit places

      VERB 2 When a vehicle cruises, it moves at a constant, moderate speed.

      crumb crumbs

      NOUN a very small piece of bread or cake

      crumble crumbles, crumbling, crumbled

      VERB When something crumbles, or when you crumble it, it breaks into small pieces.

      crumple crumples, crumpling, crumpled

      VERB If you crumple paper or cloth, you squash it so that it is full of creases and folds.

      crunch crunches, crunching, crunched

      VERB If you crunch something, you crush it noisily, for example between your teeth or under your feet.

      crusade crusades

      NOUN 1 In the Middle Ages, the Crusades were a number of expeditions to Palestine by Christians who were attempting to recapture the