crib

[ krib ]

noun

1. a child's bed with enclosed sides.
2. a stall or pen for cattle.
3. a rack or manger for fodder, as in a stable or barn.
4. a bin for storing grain, salt, etc.
5. Informal.
   1. a translation, list of correct answers, or other illicit aid used by students while reciting, taking exams, or the like; pony.
   2. plagiarism.
   3. a petty theft.
6. a room, closet, etc., in a factory or the like, in which tools are kept and issued to workers.
7. a shallow, separate section of a bathing area, reserved for small children.
8. any confined space.
9. Slang. a house, shop, etc., frequented by thieves or regarded by thieves as a likely place for burglarizing.
10. Building Trades, Civil Engineering. any of various cellular frameworks of logs, squared timbers, or steel or concrete objects of similar form assembled in layers at right angles, often filled with earth and stones and used in the construction of foundations, dams, retaining walls, etc.
11. a barrier projecting part of the way into a river and then upward, acting to reduce the flow of water and as a storage place for logs being floated downstream.
12. a lining for a well or other shaft.
13. Slang. one's home; pad.
14. Cribbage. a set of cards made up by equal contributions from each player's hand, and belonging to the dealer.
15. a cheap, ill-kept brothel.
16. a wicker basket.
17. British, Australian. lunch, especially a cold lunch carried from home to work and eaten by a laborer on the job; snack.

verb (used with object)

, cribbed, crib·bing.

1. Informal. to pilfer or steal, especially to plagiarize (another's writings or ideas).
2. to confine in or as if in a crib.
3. to provide with a crib or cribs.
4. to line with timber or planking.

verb (used without object)

, cribbed, crib·bing.

1. Informal.
   1. to use a crib in examinations, homework, translating, etc.
   2. to steal; plagiarize.
2. (of a horse) to practice cribbing.

crib

/ krɪb /

noun

1. a child's bed with slatted wooden sides; cot
2. a cattle stall or pen
3. a fodder rack or manger
4. a bin or granary for storing grain, etc
5. a small crude cottage or room
6. informal.
   a house or residence
7. a weekend cottage: term is South Island usage only
8. any small confined space
9. informal.
   a brothel
10. a wicker basket
11. a representation of the manger in which the infant Jesus was laid at birth
12. informal.
    a theft, esp of another's writing or thoughts
13. informal.
    Also called (esp US)pony a translation of a foreign text or a list of answers used by students, often illicitly, as an aid in lessons, examinations, etc
14. short for cribbage
15. cribbage the discard pile
16. Also calledcribwork a framework of heavy timbers laid in layers at right angles to one another, used in the construction of foundations, mines, etc
17. a storage area for floating logs contained by booms
18. a packed lunch taken to work

verb

1. tr to put or enclose in or as if in a crib; furnish with a crib
2. informal.
   tr to steal (another's writings or thoughts)
3. informal.
   intr to copy either from a crib or from someone else during a lesson or examination
4. tr to line (a construction hole) with timber beams, logs, or planks
5. informal.
   intr to grumble

Derived Forms

• ˈcribber, noun

Other Words From

• un·crib verb (used with object) uncribbed uncribbing

Word History and Origins

Origin of crib¹

before 1000; Middle English cribbe, Old English crib ( b ); cognate with Dutch krib, German Krippe; crèche

Word History and Origins

Origin of crib¹

Old English cribb; related to Old Saxon kribbia, Old High German krippa; compare Middle High German krēbe basket

Example Sentences

We’ll get back into the old school and head back to the crib.

From Los Angeles Times

They’re defrocking the Mets down to their vagabond shoes that are longing to ... oh, forget it, one shouldn’t need to crib from a corny song to describe what is happening here.

From Los Angeles Times

The language seemed cribbed from the rants of Donald Trump, who started his 2016 presidential campaign by saying that Mexicans who were coming across the border were “rapists and drug dealers.”

From Los Angeles Times

California has recently banned the use of the forever chemicals in cosmetics, clothing, food packaging, cribs and firefighting foam.

From Los Angeles Times

Val and I were talking about when our respective sons were toddlers, throwing from a crib a mountain of Beanie Babies while smiling like Cheshire cats.

From Salon

Related Words

• bunk
• cot
• rack