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Added 9 October 2026

crick

/kɹɪk/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about crick at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (`rick' and `wrick' are British).
English biochemist who (with Watson in 1953) helped discover the helical structure of DNA (1916-2004).

verb

Twist (a body part) into a strained position.
crick your neck

Origin

From Middle English crike, crykke (“muscular spasm of the neck”), attested since the 1400s. Likely related to Old Norse kriki (“bend; nook”), whence also crick (“creek”) and creek.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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