/ krʊk; NAmE / noun , verb , adjective
■ noun
1.
( informal ) a dishonest person
SYN criminal :
That salesman is a real crook.
2.
crook of your arm / elbow the place where your arm bends at the elbow
3.
a long stick with a hook at one end, used especially in the past by shepherds for catching sheep
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IDIOMS
see hook noun
■ verb
[ vn ] to bend your finger or arm
■ adjective
[ not usually before noun ] ( AustralE , NZE , informal ) ill / sick
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (in the sense hooked tool or weapon ): from Old Norse krókr hook. A noun sense deceit, guile, trickery (compare with crooked ) was recorded in Middle English but was obsolete by the 17th cent. The Australian senses are abbreviations of crooked .