crook

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. An implement or tool, such as a bishop's crosier or a shepherd's staff, with a bent or curved part.
2. n. A part that is curved or bent like a hook.
3. n. A curve or bend; a turn: a crook in the path.
4. n. Informal One who makes a living by dishonest methods.
5. v. To make a crook in; bend.
6. v. To bend or curve. See Synonyms at bend¹.
7. adj. Australian Out of order; faulty.
8. adj. Australian Not well; ill.
9. adj. Australian Of poor quality; inferior.
10. adj. Australian Not honest; crooked.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. Any bend, turn, or curve; a curvature; a flexure: as, a crook in a river or in a piece of timber.
2. n. A bending of the knee; a genuflection.
3. n. A bent or curved part; a curving piece or portion of anything: as, the crook of a cane or of an umbrella-handle.
4. n. An instrument or implement having a crook, or distinguished by its curved form. Specifically— A shepherd's staff, curving at the end; a pastoral staff.
5. n. The pastoral staff of a bishop or an abbot, fashioned in the form of shepherd's staff, as a symbol of his sway over and care for his flock. Such staves are generally gilt, ornamented with jewels, and enriched by carving, etc. Compare pastoral staff, under staff.
6. n. A hook hung in an open chimney to support a pot or kettle; a pot-hook or trammel.
7. n. In music: A short tube, either curved or straight, that may be inserted into various metal wind-instruments so as to lengthen their tube, and thus lower their fundamental tone or key. The curved metal tube between the mouthpiece and the body of a bassoon.
8. n. A sickle.
9. n. A lock or curl of hair. Compare crocket.
10. n. A gibbet.
11. n. A support consisting of a post or pile with a cross-beam resting upon it; a bracket or truss consisting of a vertical piece, a horizontal piece, and a strut.
12. n. An artifice; a trick; a contrivance.
13. n. A dishonest person; one who is crooked in conduct; a tricky or underhand schemer; a thief; a swindley.
14. To bend; cause to assume an angular or a curved form; make a curve or hook in.
15. To curl (hair). Ayenbite of Inwit, p. 176.
16. To turn; pervert; misapply.
17. To thwart.
18. To bend or be bent; be turned from a right line; curve; wind.
19. Specifically To bend the knee; crouch.
20. n. A name given to both the parenthesis ( ) and the square bracket [].

Wiktionary

1. adj. Australia, New Zealand, slang Bad, unsatisfactory, not up to standard.
2. adj. Australia, New Zealand, slang Ill, sick.
3. adj. Australia, New Zealand, slang Annoyed, angry; upset.
4. n. A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.
5. n. A bending of the knee; a genuflection.
6. n. A bent or curved part; a curving piece or portion (of anything).
7. n. obsolete A lock or curl of hair.
8. n. obsolete A gibbet.
9. n. obsolete A support beam consisting of a post with a cross-beam resting upon it; a bracket or truss consisting of a vertical piece, a horizontal piece, and a strut.
10. n. A shepherd's crook; a staff with a semi-circular bend ("hook") at one end used by shepherds.
11. n. An artifice; a trick; a contrivance.
12. n. A person who steals, lies, cheats or does other dishonest or illegal things; a criminal.
13. v. transitive To bend.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A bend, turn, or curve; curvature; flexure.
2. n. Any implement having a bent or crooked end.
3. n. The staff used by a shepherd, the hook of which serves to hold a runaway sheep.
4. n. A bishop's staff of office. Cf. Pastoral staff.
5. n. A pothook.
6. n. An artifice; trick; tricky device; subterfuge.
7. n. (Mus.) A small tube, usually curved, applied to a trumpet, horn, etc., to change its pitch or key.
8. n. Cant, U.S. A person given to fraudulent practices; an accomplice of thieves, forgers, etc.
9. v. To turn from a straight line; to bend; to curve.
10. v. Archaic To turn from the path of rectitude; to pervert; to misapply; to twist.
11. v. To bend; to curve; to wind; to have a curvature.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a circular segment of a curve
2. n. a long staff with one end being hook shaped
3. n. someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
4. v. bend or cause to bend