# crank

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈkɹæŋk/ · frequency rank #12,747

## Definitions
1. Hard; difficult.
2. Strange; weird; odd.
3. Bent; twisted; crooked; distorted; out of repair.
4. Sick; unwell.
5. Liable to capsize because of poorly stowed cargo or insufficient ballast.
6. Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated.

## Etymology
From Dutch or Low German krank, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *krank, from Proto-Germanic *krangaz, *krankaz (“bent; weak”). Cognate with Scots crank, krank, German krank (“sick”).

## Easily confused with
- **crap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crap)
- **cray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-cray)
- **cyan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-cyan)
- **crazy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crazy)
- **crash** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crash)
- **creek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-creek)
- **crawl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crawl)
- **crate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crate)
- **crave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crave)
- **crook** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crook)
- **craze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-craze)
- **crock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crock)
- **crass** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crass)
- **craps** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-craps)
- **crick** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crick)
- **crony** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crony)
- **crone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-crone)
- **cranky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-cranky)
- **cranked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/crank-vs-cranked)
- **can** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/can-vs-crank)

## Common misspellings (8)
`carnk`, `ccrank`, `crakn`, `crankk`, `crannk`, `crnak`, `crrank`, `rcank`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/crank