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🏗️ A lifting machine 🐦 A large bird 🦒 To stretch neck 🏗️ To lift by machine
to crane

to crane

9 5.4
To stretch your neck to see something better
  • verb
  • /kreɪn/
translation icon : estirar el cuello
  • I twist in my seat, crane my neck trying to see as we pull into traffic.
  • craning their necks

Examples

  • By standing up there and craning, she'd be able to get a look into that farther room.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Beside her, Monty was craning to see over the dashboard.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • "Any make on it?" Han asked, craning his neck to try to get a look.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I step up behind Caitlin and crane my neck to look over her broad, bare shoulders.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Curious, a few revelers crane their necks in our direction.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Lily unstrapped herself and moved to stand behind him, craning forward to get the best possible view of the sky.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "Yes," Alfred replied, looking upward, craning his neck until he nearly fell over backward.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Utah, wearing a wetsuit, stands beside his surfboard, craning forward to get a better look.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • No grass stains on her hot-pink shorts? Belatedly, she cranes her neck to check.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • He craned his neck to see the actor on stage during the performance.

Synonyms

to stretch out
vsto crane
20 3.4

Move part of your body, for example your arm, to reach or see something

is extending the neck specifically to see more clearly from a better position

Antonyms

to duck
117 1.7

To lower your head or body quickly to avoid being hit

Compounds

whooping crane
  • US
5 9.6

A large rare North American bird with white and black feathers and a loud trumpet call

crane fly
5.6

A long thin fly with very long legs that looks like a large mosquito but does not bite

stacker crane
  • Specialized
8.2

A machine in a warehouse that lifts and moves pallets under computer control

How Far

to strain
87 4.2
to crane
9 5.4

Surface Forms

crane infinitive
craned past
craned past participle
craning present participle
cranes third person singular

Etymology

Crane comes from the long-necked bird: people said someone stretched their neck 'like a crane' to see better. So to crane your neck is to lean or stretch it to get a clearer view.