Crane vs. Crank — What's the Difference?

Any of various large wading birds of the family Gruidae, having a long neck, long legs, and a long bill.

Turn the crankshaft of (an internal combustion engine) in order to start the engine

A similar bird, such as a heron.

Give a bend to (a shaft, bar, etc.)

A machine for hoisting and moving heavy objects by means of cables attached to a movable boom.

Inject a narcotic drug

Any of various devices with a swinging arm, as in a fireplace for suspending a pot.

A part of an axle or shaft bent out at right angles, for converting reciprocal to circular motion and vice versa

To hoist or move with or as if with a crane.

The drug methamphetamine.

To strain and stretch (the neck, for example) in order to see better.

An eccentric person, especially one who is obsessed by a particular subject

To stretch one's neck toward something for a better view.

A fanciful turn of speech.

To be irresolute; hesitate.

(of a sailing ship) liable to heel over.

Any bird of the family Gruidae, large birds with long legs and a long neck which is extended during flight.

A device for transmitting rotary motion, consisting of a handle or arm attached at right angles to a shaft.

Ardea herodias, the great blue heron.

A clever turn of speech; a verbal conceit

A mechanical lifting machine or device, often used for lifting heavy loads for industrial or construction purposes.

A peculiar or eccentric idea or action.

An iron arm with horizontal motion, attached to the side or back of a fireplace for supporting kettles etc. over the fire.

A grouchy person.

A siphon, or bent pipe, for drawing liquors out of a cask.

An eccentric person, especially one who is unduly zealous.

(nautical) A forked post or projecting bracket to support spars, etc.; generally used in pairs.

(Slang) Methamphetamine.

(obsolete) The cranium.

To start or operate (an engine, for example) by or as if by turning a handle.

(ambitransitive) To extend (one's neck).

To move or operate (a window, for example) by or as if by turning a handle.

(transitive) To raise or lower with, or as if with, a crane.

To make into the shape of a crank; bend.

(intransitive) To pull up before a jump.

To provide with a handle that is used in turning.

A wading bird of the genus Grus, and allied genera, of various species, having a long, straight bill, and long legs and neck.

To turn a handle.

Any arm which swings about a vertical axis at one end, used for supporting a suspended weight.

To wind in a zigzagging course.

A machine for raising and lowering heavy weights, and, while holding them suspended, transporting them through a limited lateral distance. In one form it consists of a projecting arm or jib of timber or iron, a rotating post or base, and the necessary tackle, windlass, etc.; - so called from a fancied similarity between its arm and the neck of a crane See Illust. of Derrick.

Of, being, or produced by an eccentric person

An iron arm with horizontal motion, attached to the side or back of a fireplace, for supporting kettles, etc., over a fire.

Liable to capsize; unstable.

A siphon, or bent pipe, for drawing liquors out of a cask.

(slang) Strange, weird, odd.

A forked post or projecting bracket to support spars, etc., - generally used in pairs. See Crotch, 2.

Sick; unwell.

The American blue heron (Ardea herodias).

Liable to capsize because of poorly stowed cargo or insufficient ballast.

To cause to rise; to raise or lift, as by a crane; - with up.

Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated.

To stretch, as a crane stretches its neck; as, to crane the neck disdainfully.

A bent piece of an axle or shaft, or an attached arm perpendicular, or nearly so, to the end of a shaft or wheel, used to impart a rotation to a wheel or other mechanical device; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion.

To reach forward with head and neck, in order to see better; as, a hunter cranes forward before taking a leap.

Clipping of crankshaft

United States writer (1871-1900)

The act of converting power into motion, by turning a crankshaft.

United States poet (1899-1932)

(archaic) Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage.

Lifts and moves heavy objects; lifting tackle is suspended from a pivoted boom that rotates around a vertical axis

(informal) An ill-tempered or nasty person.

Large long-necked wading bird of marshes and plains in many parts of the world

A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim;

Stretch (the neck) so as to see better;

A fit of temper or passion.

A person who is considered strange or odd by others. They may behave in unconventional ways.

A baseball fan.

(informal) An amateur in science or other technical subjects who persistently advocates flawed theories

Synonym of methamphetamine.

(rare) A twist or turn in speech; word play consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word.

(obsolete) A sick person; an invalid.

(slang) The penis.

(transitive) To turn by means of a crank.

(intransitive) To turn a crank.

To turn.

(transitive) To cause to spin via other means, as though turned by a crank.

(intransitive) To act in a cranky manner; to behave unreasonably and irritably, especially through complaining.

(intransitive) To be running at a high level of output or effort.

To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn.

A bent portion of an axle, or shaft, or an arm keyed at right angles to the end of a shaft, by which motion is imparted to or received from it; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. See Bell crank.

Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage.

A twist or turn in speech; a conceit consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word.

A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim; crotchet; also, a fit of temper or passion.

A person full of crotchets; one given to fantastic or impracticable projects; one whose judgment is perverted in respect to a particular matter.

A sick person; an invalid.

Sick; infirm.

Liable to careen or be overset, as a ship when she is too narrow, or has not sufficient ballast, or is loaded too high, to carry full sail.

Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated.

To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn.

A bad-tempered person

A whimsically eccentric person

Amphetamine used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride; used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant

A hand tool consisting of a rotating shaft with parallel handle

Travel along a zigzag path;

Start by cranking;

Rotate with a crank

Fasten with a crank

Bend into the shape of a crank

(used of boats) inclined to heel over easily under sail