What does crooked mean?
"Crooked" describes anything that bends, twists, or deviates from being straight, level, or true — a crooked line, a crooked tooth, a crooked grin, or a picture hanging crooked on a wall. By natural extension, the word came to describe moral deviation as well: a crooked businessman, crooked cop, or crooked election is one marked by dishonesty or fraud. The word functions as an adjective and carries sharply different connotations depending on sense — the literal use is neutral or even affectionate (as with a crooked smile), while figurative uses are reliably condemnatory. It derives from "crook", meaning a hook or bend, which traces back through Old Norse to a Germanic root shared with words like "crutch" and "crozier". Its versatility — spanning geometry, anatomy, and ethics — makes it a staple of everyday English, equally at home describing a winding country lane and a rigged contract.
Bent, twisted, or not straight or level; askew.
"The path wound crooked through the hills."
Neutral in connotation when applied to physical objects.
Dishonest or illegal; corrupt.
"He was jailed for his crooked dealings with the council."
Always pejorative; typically used of people or their conduct rather than institutions directly.
"By hook or by crook" — a phrase dating back to medieval England — may preserve the old word for a shepherd's hooked staff, the very root of "crooked."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crooked
"Crooked" derives from "crook", meaning a bend or hook, which entered Middle English from Old Norse "krókr" (hook), sharing a Germanic root with related forms such as "crutch" and "crozier". The adjective originally meant simply 'bent or curved', and its figurative sense of 'dishonest' developed later, likely by analogy with moral 'straightness'. The phrase "by hook or by crook" preserves the older sense of the root word.
Related word forms
How crooked is actually used
The physical sense is neutral; the dishonest sense is always pejorative and often colloquial. As an adjective it takes both attributive ('a crooked path') and predicative positions. The adverb 'crookedly' is uncommon; people usually say 'hangs crooked'.
Easily confused with crooked
'Crocked' is informal slang for drunk or injured (chiefly British), while 'crooked' means bent or dishonest.