I. crane 1 /kreɪn/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: cran the bird ]
1 . a large tall machine used by builders for lifting heavy things ⇨ hoist
2 . a tall water bird with very long legs
II. crane 2 BrE AmE verb [I, T always + adv/prep]
to look around or over something by stretching or leaning
crane forward/over etc
The children craned forward to see what was happening.
He craned his neck above the crowd to get a better view.