crooked

adjective

crook·​ed ˈkru̇-kəd How to pronounce crooked (audio)
Synonyms of crooked
1
: not straight
a crooked road
Your tie is crooked.
2
: dishonest
a crooked election
crooked politicians
crookedly adverb
crookedness noun

Synonyms of crooked

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of crooked in a Sentence

a long, crooked line of people had formed in front of the ticket booth the common belief that gambling casinos are often crooked businesses
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Music takes on a different purpose by mid-August—who isn’t feeling a little lazy and crooked by now, spiritually overserved and ready for a nap? — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026 The rule also failed to tackle all of the ways trusts and other vehicles provide impenetrable secrecy for the wealthy and the crooked alike. — Casey Michel, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026 In Salinger’s narrative, Pencey is plagued by a population of troubled youth, crooked teachers, and spoiled rich kids, a mixture that often begat abuse. — Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026 In other words, surveillance technology is responsible for taking 50 crooked cops off the beat. — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 5 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for crooked

Word History

Etymology

see crook entry 2

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of crooked was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

crookbill
crooked
crooked-foot
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Crooked.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crooked. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

crooked

adjective
crook·​ed ˈkru̇k-əd How to pronounce crooked (audio)
1
: having bends and curves
a crooked path
2
: not set or placed straight
the picture is crooked
3
: dishonest
a crooked card game
crookedly adverb
crookedness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on crooked

Nglish: Translation of crooked for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of prowess

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All