cranelike
- adjective
- The bird perched on the branch, its cranelike neck craning to scan the surroundings.
Examples
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She would have been an attractive woman except for something too eager, too hungry, and almost haggard in her face, and her lunging, oddly cranelike posture that made others draw back.
Fiction book (1997) -
Although at various points in the novel Teresa and Alicia achieve what Teresa perceives as a state of oneness, performing "cranelike movements in slow motion one and its mirror" (128), each is actively working to shape the other.
Academic text (1996) -
She runs across a sweeping lawn at night toward the lights and the music, her cranelike neck stretched forward, her neck white as milk.
Fiction book (1996) -
Until recently, Egyptian farmers used a wooden, cranelike device called a shadouf to raise water from the Nile for irrigation.
Academic text (2007) -
The dancer moved with a cranelike grace, her arms extending elegantly as she performed.
-
Standing tall and thin, the construction towered over the city, resembling a cranelike structure.
How Crane-Like
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word cranelike comes from the bird crane, known for its very long neck and tall legs, and from the same name used for the tall machine that lifts heavy things. The ending -like means 'similar to', so cranelike describes something tall, thin, or with a long arm that sticks out, just like a crane.