Word a Day
creak
What does creak mean?
creak (verb): to make a prolonged sharp grating or squeaking sound, as by the friction of hard substances.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you use creak in a sentence?
- The door creaked when I opened it slowly. (Princeton WordNet 3.1)
How do you pronounce creak?
/kɹik/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does creak come from?
From Middle English creken, criken, metathesis of Old English cearcian (“to chatter, creak, crash, gnash”), from Proto-West Germanic *krakōn (“to crash, crack, creak”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Test yourself: do you know “creak”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “creak” mean?
to make fun of (someone); to goad (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner
Not quite: that's what taunt means.
to make and administer the public policy and affairs of; to exercise sovereign authority in
Not quite: that's what govern means.
to make a prolonged sharp grating or squeaking sound, as by the friction of hard substances
Right! That's what “creak” means.
provoke someone to do something through (often false or exaggerated) promises or persuasion
Not quite: that's what lure means.
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