What does crick mean?
A crick is an unpleasant cramp or persistent stiffness in a muscle, most often striking the neck or back after sleeping in an awkward position or turning the head too sharply. English speakers use it both as a noun ('I've got a crick in my neck') and as a verb ('I cricked my back lifting that box'), and it carries a distinctly informal, conversational register — it is the kind of word people say to colleagues rather than write to doctors. In some rural American dialects, 'crick' also serves as a folksy variant of 'creek', meaning a small stream, a usage familiar from regional literature. The word has been part of English for centuries, and despite its humble, homely feel it remains firmly embedded in everyday vocabulary. It is useful precisely because no more formal term quite captures that specific, nagging muscular twinge it names.
A painful, persistent cramp or stiffness in a muscle, especially in the neck or back.
"Bending over the desk all day left him with a nagging crick in his back."
Almost always used with the preposition 'in', as in 'a crick in the neck'.
To strain or wrench the neck or back so as to produce a cramp or stiffness.
"She cricked her neck trying to look behind her in traffic."
In some American dialects, used loosely to mean a small stream or creek.
"We fished for minnows down at the crick all summer long."
Rarely pluralized, since a person typically suffers from a single crick at a time.
"Old farm work left him with assorted cricks and aches he never fully shook."
That stiff neck you wake up with has had its own dedicated word since at least the 15th century.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crick
The origins of 'crick' are uncertain, but it has been recorded in English since at least the late Middle Ages, with the sense of a muscle cramp established by the early modern period. Many etymologists suspect a Germanic source, pointing to related words in Dutch and Low German for a cramp or twist, though the precise lineage cannot be stated with certainty. The dialectal American sense of 'crick' as a small stream reflects the same sound as 'creek', which itself derives from Old Norse 'kriki' via Middle English.
Related word forms
How crick is actually used
The word is informal but widely used in everyday speech. The stream sense is largely confined to rural and dialectal American English, echoing the older use of 'creek'.
Easily confused with crick
A creek is a small stream or narrow inlet of water, while a crick is a muscle cramp — though in some American dialects 'crick' is also used informally to mean a small stream.