Crane vs. Loon — What's the Difference?

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

A person with confused ideas; incapable of serious thought

A similar bird, such as a heron.

Loons (North America) or divers (United Kingdom / Ireland) are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus Gavia, family Gaviidae and order Gaviiformes .

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

A silly or foolish person

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

A large diving waterbird with a sleek black or grey head, a straight pointed bill, and short legs set far back under the body; a diver.

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

Act in a foolish or desultory way

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

Any of several fish-eating diving birds of the genus Gavia of northern regions, having a short tail, webbed feet, and a laughlike cry.

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

A person who is foolish or crazy.

To be irresolute; hesitate.

(slang) A crazy or deranged person; a lunatic.

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

(obsolete) An idler, a lout.

Ardea herodias, the great blue heron.

A boy, a lad.

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

A harlot; mistress.

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

A simpleton.

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

An English soldier of an expeditionary army in Ireland.

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

(traffic engineering) A round area of pavement that protrudes from one side of a road to accommodate turning vehicles with a wide turning circle.

(obsolete) The cranium.

Any of various birds, of the order Gaviiformes, of North America and Europe that dive for fish and have a short tail, webbed feet and a yodeling cry.

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

A sorry fellow; a worthless person; a rogue.

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

Any one of several aquatic, wed-footed, northern birds of the genus Urinator (formerly Colymbus), noted for their expertness in diving and swimming under water. The common loon, or great northern diver (Urinator imber, or Colymbus torquatus), and the red-throated loon or diver (Urinator septentrionalis), are the best known species. See Diver.

(intransitive) To pull up before a jump.

A worthless lazy fellow

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

Large somewhat primitive fish-eating diving bird of the northern hemisphere having webbed feet placed far back; related to the grebes

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

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.

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

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

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

The American blue heron (Ardea herodias).

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

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

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

United States writer (1871-1900)

United States poet (1899-1932)

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

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

Stretch (the neck) so as to see better;