English

Proper noun

Crouch

1. A surname​.
2. A ghost town in California.
3. A city/town in Idaho.
4. A small river in Essex, England.

English

Noun

crouch ‎(plural crouches)

1. (obsolete) A cross.

Verb

crouch ‎(third-person singular simple present crouches, present participle crouching, simple past and past participle crouched)

1. (obsolete) To sign with the cross; bless.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English crouchen, crucchen, crouken ‎(“to bend, crouch”), variant of croken ‎(“to bend, crook”), from crok ‎(“crook, hook”), from Old Norse krókr ‎(“hook”), from Proto-Germanic *krōkaz ‎(“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerg- ‎(“wicker, bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- ‎(“to turn, wind, weave”). Compare Middle Dutch krōken ‎(“to crook, curl”). More at crook.

Verb

crouch ‎(third-person singular simple present crouches, present participle crouching, simple past and past participle crouched)

1. (intransitive) To bend down; to stoop low; to lie close to the ground with legs bent, as an animal when waiting for prey, or in fear.

   We crouched behind the low wall until the squad of soldiers had passed by.

   • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 2

     Archer and Jacob jumped up from behind the mound where they had been crouching with the intention of springing upon their mother unexpectedly, and they all began to walk slowly home.

2. (intransitive) To bend servilely; to stoop meanly; to fawn; to cringe.
   • Wordsworth

     a crouching purpose

   • Shakespeare

     Must I stand and crouch / Under your testy humour?

3. (intransitive) To bend, or cause to bend, as in humility or fear.

Translations

Noun

crouch ‎(plural crouches)

1. A bent or stooped position.

   The cat waited in a crouch, hidden behind the hedge.

2. A button (of a joypad, joystick or similar device) whose only or main current function is that when it is pressed causes a video game character to crouch.

Translations