What does crowed mean?
Crowed is the past tense and past participle of the verb crow, which has two main senses. Literally, it describes the loud, shrill cry made by a rooster, traditionally associated with dawn. Figuratively — and far more commonly in everyday speech — it means to boast openly and gleefully about a success, victory, or piece of good fortune. Someone who has just won an argument might be said to have crowed about it, and the verb often implies a touch of unseemly gloating rather than quiet satisfaction. In older British usage, the past tense was sometimes formed as crew, though this now survives largely in literary contexts. Derived directly from the bird's cry, the word vividly transfers the strident, self-assertive sound of the farmyard cockerel to human behaviour.
verbPast tense and past participle of the verb 'crow': to utter the characteristic loud shrill cry of a rooster, or figuratively, to boast loudly and triumphantly about something.
- (of a rooster) to utter its characteristic loud shrill cry, especially at dawn
- (figurative) to boast openly and gleefully about one's success or good fortune
"He crowed about his promotion for weeks."
"The rooster crowed loudly at first light."
"She crowed with delight when her team won."
The rooster's boast gave us one of English's most vivid verbs of self-congratulation — and an old past tense, 'crew', that now sounds like it belongs on a ship.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crowed
The verb derives from Old English crawan, meaning the crow of a cock, of Germanic origin. The figurative sense of boasting developed by extension from the literal cry of the rooster. An archaic past-tense form, crew, was used historically, particularly in Britain, before crowed became standard.
Related word forms
How crowed is actually used
Standard modern past tense is 'crowed'; the older form 'crew' survives mainly in British literary usage. The figurative sense carries a mildly negative connotation of gloating.
Easily confused with crowed
'Crew' is an archaic British past tense of 'crow', while 'crew' as a modern noun refers to a group of people working together; 'crowed' is the standard past tense today.