creek

¹ American  

[kreek, krik] / krik, krɪk /

noun

1. U.S. and Canada. a stream smaller than a river.

2. a stream or channel in a coastal marsh.

3. Chiefly Atlantic States and British. a recess or inlet in the shore of the sea.

4. an estuary.

5. British Dialect. a narrow, winding passage or hidden recess.

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idioms

1. up the / a creek (without a paddle), in a predicament; in a difficult or seemingly hopeless situation.

   The pension is so small, I'd be up the creek if I had no other income.

   Don't ask me to navigate, or we'll be up a creek without a paddle in no time.

Creek ² American  

[kreek] / krik /

noun

plural

Creeks,

plural

Creek

1. a member of a confederacy of North American Indians that in historic times occupied the greater part of Alabama and Georgia.

2. Also called Muskogee.  a Muskogean language that is the language of the Creek Indians.

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creek ¹ British  

/ kriːk /

noun

1. a narrow inlet or bay, esp of the sea

2. a small stream or tributary

3. slang in trouble; in a difficult position

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Creek ² British  

/ kriːk /

noun

1. a member of a confederacy of Native American peoples formerly living in Georgia and Alabama, now chiefly in Oklahoma

2. any of the languages of these peoples, belonging to the Muskhogean family

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creek More Idioms  

1. see up a creek.

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Other Word Forms

• subcreek noun

Etymology

Origin of creek

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English creke, variant of crike, from Old Norse kriki “bend, crook”

Example Sentences

At the meadow’s end, the creek dived into a rocky canyon, the beginning of a 1,500-foot drop through patches of willow, cottonwood and fern.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2025

Officials said floodwaters from the creek blew out those points of connection for the bridge.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2025

The utility recently installed water hookups for one secluded mountaintop community that had been relying on cisterns and a truck hauling creek water—a project Brewster said took six years to accumulate enough government money for.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

But her sister’s house sat near a swollen creek that had done serious damage in prior floods.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

We filled our lunch baskets with wild plums from a tree at the creek bank, then rejoined the others and visited some more.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson