Cranky

How to spell cranky

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce cranky

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does cranky mean?

1. adjectiveBad-tempered, irritable, or easily annoyed, often through tiredness or discomfort.
2. adjectiveWorking badly, shaky, or unreliable, especially of an old machine or vehicle.

Cranky in a sentence

• The toddler grew cranky after missing his afternoon nap.

• The cranky old printer jams every time we run a large job.

• She gets cranky when she skips lunch and works straight through.

• Their cranky little boat rocked alarmingly in the harbour swell.

Where does cranky come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The base word 'crank' goes back to Old English 'cranc', related to a Germanic root meaning something bent or crooked, and originally named a bent handle used to turn a shaft or wheel. From that mechanical sense the word drifted figuratively: a 'crank' came to mean a twisted or eccentric notion, and then a person full of such notions. The adjective 'cranky' grew out of this in the 1700s, first describing things that were shaky, twisted, or out of order, and soon afterward describing people who were ill-tempered or peevish. In American usage the irritable sense became dominant, while older British usage also let it mean shaky or unsteady, as with a wobbly old boat. The single 'k' before the '-y' is the usual spelling trap, since the word keeps the full 'crank' intact rather than dropping or doubling any letter.

How the word is built

• crank (a bent handle, also an odd or unsteady notion)
• -y (adjective suffix meaning 'having the quality of')