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creek

creek

240 1.4
A small natural stream of water that often flows into a river
  • noun
  • /krik/
  • US
: arroyo
  • I didn't have eyes for anything but a little creek of clear water that cut through the grass.
  • rivers and creeks
  • flows into the creek
  • cross the creek

And we would just ride our bikes around Bowie's Creek all hot summer long.

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Examples

  • He could recite the Iliad in ancient Greek while fishing for trout in a rippling creek.

  • Down where I sit and write, I watch the seasonal creek waxing and waning.

    Academic text (2000)
  • We got us a creek down the way.

  • The creek is plenty deep enough to sail.

  • Will parked the car at a dry creek bed several miles from the school.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I tried to find the creek again, but I couldn't find it.

  • They came up the creek on horses.

  • Water sources to meet both uses were springs, creeks, and part of the Fuerabamba River.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The oysters had been held overnight in a creek on Staten Island.

    Academic text (1990)
  • My friends and I spent the afternoon fishing in the cool creek near my house.

Synonyms

stream
vscreek
186 1.0

A small, narrow flow of water on the ground

is specifically a smaller water flow that commonly enters a river
brook
vscreek
22 1.0

A small stream of water that flows in fields or woods

is the common name for a similar small natural water channel
tributary
vscreek
11 4.6

A smaller river that flows into a larger river or lake

is a smaller local water channel that often fits that feeding role
feeder
vscreek
4 4.9

A small stream that flows into a larger river

is the small watercourse often serving the same feeding role
branch
vscreek
4 3.7

A smaller river or stream that flows into a larger one

is the general local name for such a smaller connecting water channel
run
vscreek
  • US
2 4.5

A small fast stream of water in the countryside

is the same type of small channel without implying fast flow
watercourse
vscreek
1 4.8

A channel, natural or man-made, where water flows like a river

is a specific natural small channel within that broader category
streamlet
vscreek
1 7.3

A small narrow stream of water like a tiny brook

is the larger small water channel, not the tiny narrow type
brooklet
vscreek
7.8

A very small stream that flows through a field or woods

is a larger small channel rather than the very tiny variety

Idioms

up the creek
  • Informal
4 9.4

In a difficult situation with no easy way out

A very bad situation with no way to fix it

An informal phrase to show hope that something will happen if nothing goes wrong

A stream or river that flows very little because it is dry

Compounds

7 3.4

The dry or wet bottom of a small stream where water flows

A group of Native American tribes led by the Muskogee people in the southeastern United States before moving to Oklahoma

How Big

torrent
7 4.4
river
∞ 1.0
creek
  • US
240 1.4
brook
22 1.0
rivulet
5 7.7

Surface Forms

creek singular
creeks plural

Etymology

Creek comes from the Old Norse word kriki, which meant 'nook' or 'small corner' by the water. So a creek is like a small, narrow stream that fits into a little 'nook' of land, which is why it is smaller than a river.