What does crock mean?
A crock is a large earthenware or stoneware container, typically cylindrical with a wide mouth, used traditionally for storing and preserving foods such as butter, pickles, sauerkraut, and salted meat. Before refrigeration, crocks were household essentials, kept in cool cellars and pantries to keep contents fresh. The word carries a homely, rustic connotation, evoking farmhouse kitchens and traditional food preparation, though modern cooks still prize them for fermentation. Informally, particularly in American English, 'crock' also denotes nonsense or rubbish, most often in the expression 'a crock of nonsense', giving the word a second life as a colloquial put-down. In Britain, 'an old crock' can refer humorously to a person in poor health or a dilapidated vehicle. Related terms include 'crockery', meaning ceramic dishes generally, which derives from the same root. Simple, sturdy, and steeped in domestic history, 'crock' remains a useful word bridging practical vocabulary and everyday slang.
An earthenware or stoneware jar used for storing or preserving food.
"The farmer's wife packed layers of cabbage into the crock to make sauerkraut."
(Informal) Nonsense; something untrue or worthless.
"His excuse about being stuck in traffic was pure crock."
Usually heard in the extended form 'a crock of ...'; chiefly North American.
(British, informal) A person in poor health or a dilapidated vehicle; something worn out.
"After twenty years and 200,000 miles, my car has finally become a real old crock."
Chiefly British; often affectionate rather than harsh.
Standard plural, used when referring to multiple jars or vessels.
"Rows of crocks lined the pantry shelves, each filled with preserved vegetables."
The phrase 'a crock of gold' — the leprechaun's legendary treasure at the end of the rainbow — may have helped cement the idea of a 'crock' as something valuable, even as the word came to mean worthless nonsense.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crock
The word 'crock' comes from Middle English 'crokke', meaning a pot or earthenware vessel, which itself derives from Old English 'pocca'-related forms and ultimately shares ancestry with words for containers across Germanic languages. It has been used for stoneware jars since at least the Middle English period. The related word 'crockery' emerged later to describe ceramic dishes collectively. The slang sense of nonsense arose much more recently, likely in early twentieth-century America.
Related word forms
How crock is actually used
In British English, 'crock' can also refer to a broken-down vehicle or a person in poor health ('an old crock'). The informal sense of nonsense is chiefly American and usually appears in the fuller expression 'a crock of ...'.
Easily confused with crock
A crook is a curved implement, a shepherd's staff, or a dishonest person; a crock is an earthenware jar or, informally, a piece of nonsense.
A clock is a timekeeping device, while a crock is a jar for storing food.