I. crease 1 /kriːs/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Probably from crest ]
1 . [countable] a line on a piece of cloth, paper etc where it has been folded, crushed, or pressed:
She smoothed the creases from her skirt.
I’ll have to iron out the creases.
2 . [countable] a fold in someone’s skin ⇨ wrinkle :
the creases on his forehead
3 . [singular] the line where the player has to stand to hit the ball in ↑ cricket
• • •
THESAURUS
■ on the ground/on the surface of something
▪ line a long thin mark on a piece of paper, the ground, or another surface:
The teacher put a red line through the first sentence.
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If the ball goes over the line, it’s out of play.
▪ groove a thin line that has been cut into a surface:
Deep grooves had been cut into the stone to channel the water.
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Lyle ran his fingernail along the groove in the table.
▪ rut a deep line in the ground which has been made by the wheels of vehicles:
The deep ruts made by the trucks were full of water.
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The tractor’s wheels caught a rut in the field and jolted him.
▪ crease/wrinkle a line on clothes, material, or paper where it has been folded or crushed:
She was trying to smooth out the creases in her dress.
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She had wrinkles in her skirt where she had sat.
II. crease 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive and transitive]
to become marked with a line or lines, or to make a line appear on cloth, paper etc by folding or crushing it ⇨ crumple :
Don’t sit on my newspaper. You’ll crease it!
These trousers crease really easily.
A worried frown creased her forehead.
—creased adjective :
This shirt is too creased to wear.
crease (somebody) up phrasal verb
British English spoken to laugh a lot, or to make someone laugh a lot SYN crack up :
She really creases me up!