I.
chiefly Britain
past of crow vi 1
II. ˈkrü noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English crue reinforcement, body of soldiers, from Middle French creue increase, from Old French, feminine of creu, past participle of creistre to grow — more at crescent
1. archaic : a band or force of armed men
that fair crew of knights — Edmund Spenser
2. : a company of people temporarily associated together : assemblage , throng , retinue
mirth, admit me of thy crew — John Milton
3.
a. : a group of people regarded as associated by common traits, interests, or purpose : set , gang , mob
that crooked politician and his crew of heelers
b. : a company or squad of men working on one job or under one foreman : gang
lumbering crew
wrecking crew
stage crew
c. : a group of men organized to serve or operate a machine, vehicle, or other apparatus (as a fieldpiece, railroad train, or tank)
mortar crew
4.
a. : the company of seamen who man a ship : the whole company belonging to a ship sometimes including the officers and master
b. : a small body or gang of men on a ship who work under the direction of some petty officer or who are assigned to some particular duty
the galley crew
c. : the body of men manning a racing shell
a college crew
crew practice
also : rowing
his chief activities were wrestling and crew
d. : the persons who man an aircraft in flight — called also flight crew
5. : a subdivision of an explorer unit of the Boy Scouts of America made up of two or more explorers and corresponding to a boy scout patrol
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to act as a member of a crew
crew on the winning sailboat
transitive verb
: to serve on (a ship or aircraft) as a crew member
any man who has crewed both conventional fighters and jets — Aero Digest
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: partly from Middle English, fish trap, from Scottish Gaelic crō pen for animals, hut; partly from Welsh crau pigpen & Cornish crow; akin to Old Irish crāu stable, hut — more at crypt
dialect Britain : a pen for cattle, swine, or sheep