/ krəʊ; NAmE kroʊ/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a large bird, completely or mostly black, with a rough unpleasant cry
2.
a sound like that of a cock / rooster crowing :
She gave a little crow of triumph.
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IDIOMS
- as the crow flies
—more at eat , stone verb
■ verb
1.
[ v ] ( of a cock / rooster ) to make repeated loud high sounds, especially early in the morning
2.
crow (about / over sth) ( disapproving ) to talk too proudly about sth you have achieved, especially when sb else has been unsuccessful
SYN boast , gloat :
[ v ]
He won't stop crowing about his victory.
[ v speech ]
'I've won, I've won!' she crowed.
[also v that ]
3.
[ v ] ( BrE ) ( of a baby ) to make happy sounds
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WORD ORIGIN
noun sense 1 Old English crāwe , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch kraai and German Krähe , also to the verb crow .
noun sense 2 and verb Old English crāwan , of West Germanic origin; related to German krähen , also to crow the bird; ultimately imitative.