[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

crank \crank\, v. i. see crank, n.
   to run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind
   and turn.
   1913 webster

         see how this river comes me cranking in. --shak.
   1913 webster
see also:
crank 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

crank \crank\ kra^ngk, n. oe. cranke; akin to e. cringe,
   cringle, crinkle, and to crank, a., the root meaning,
   probably, "to turn, twist." see cringe.
   1. mach. a bent portion of an axle, or shaft, or an arm
      keyed at right angles to the end of a shaft, by which
      motion is imparted to or received from it; also used to
      change circular into reciprocating motion, or
      reciprocating into circular motion. see bell crank.
      1913 webster

   2. any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage.
      1913 webster

            so many turning cranks these have, so many crooks.
                                                  --spenser.
      1913 webster

   3. a twist or turn in speech; a conceit consisting in a
      change of the form or meaning of a word.
      1913 webster

            quips, and cranks, and wanton wiles.  --milton.
      1913 webster

   4. a twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim; crotchet;
      also, a fit of temper or passion. prov. eng.
      1913 webster

            violent of temper; subject to sudden cranks.
                                                  --carlyle.
      1913 webster

   5. a person full of crotchets; one given to fantastic or
      impracticable projects; one whose judgment is perverted in
      respect to a particular matter. colloq.
      1913 webster

   6. a sick person; an invalid. obs.
      1913 webster

            thou art a counterfeit crank, a cheater. --burton.
      1913 webster

   crank axle mach., a driving axle formed with a crank or
      cranks, as in some kinds of locomotives.

   crank pin mach., the cylindrical piece which forms the
      handle, or to which the connecting rod is attached, at the
      end of a crank, or between the arms of a double crank.

   crank shaft, a shaft bent into a crank, or having a crank
      fastened to it, by which it drives or is driven.

   crank wheel, a wheel acting as a crank, or having a wrist
      to which a connecting rod is attached.
      1913 webster
see also:
cringe bell crank crank axle crank pin crank shaft crank wheel 

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

crank \crank\ kra^ngk, a. as. cranc weak; akin to icel.
   krangr, d.  g. krank sick, weak cf. d. krengen to careen.
   cf. crank, n.
   1. sick; infirm. prov. eng.
      1913 webster

   2. naut. liable to careen or be overset, as a ship when she
      is too narrow, or has not sufficient ballast, or is loaded
      too high, to carry full sail.
      1913 webster

   3. full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident;
      opinionated.
      1913 webster

            he who was, a little before, bedrid, . . . was now
            crank and lusty.                      --udall.
      1913 webster

            if you strong electioners did not think you were
            among the elect, you would not be so crank about it.
                                                  --mrs. stowe.
      1913 webster
see also:
crank 

[4] : WordNet (r) 2.0

crank
     adj : used of boats inclined to heel over easily under sail
           syn: cranky, tender, tippy
     n 1: a bad-tempered person syn: grouch, grump, churl, crosspatch
     2: a whimsically eccentric person syn: crackpot, nut, nut
        case, nutcase, fruitcake, screwball
     3: amphetamine used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride;
        used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an
        appetite suppressant syn: methamphetamine, methamphetamine
        hydrochloride, methedrine, meth, deoxyephedrine, chalk,
         chicken feed, glass, ice, shabu, trash
     4: a hand tool consisting of a rotating shaft with parallel
        handle syn: starter
     v 1: travel along a zigzag path; "the river zigzags through the
          countryside" syn: zigzag
     2: start by cranking; "crank up the engine" syn: crank up
     3: rotate with a crank syn: crank up
     4: fasten with a crank
     5: bend into the shape of a crank
see also:
cranky tender tippy grouch grump churl 
crosspatch crackpot nut nut case nutcase 
fruitcake screwball methamphetamine methamphetamine hydrochloride methedrine 
meth deoxyephedrine chalk chicken feed glass 
ice shabu trash starter zigzag 
crank up 

[5] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

257 moby thesaurus words for "crank":
   l, tartar, abnormal, aficionado, alien, angle, angle off,
   anomalous, apex, bar, beam, bear, bee, bellyacher, bend, bifurcate,
   bifurcation, bight, boom, boutade, brainstorm, branch, branks,
   buff, bug, cant, cant hook, capriccio, caprice, case, character,
   chevron, circle, circulate, circumrotate, circumvolute, claw bar,
   coin, complainant, complainer, conceit, corner, crab, crackbrain,
   crackpot, crank in, crankish, cranky, craze, crazy idea, croaker,
   crook, crosspatch, crotchet, crotchety, crow, crowbar,
   cucking stool, cuckoo, deflection, deviant, deviative, devotee,
   different, ding-a-ling, divergent, dogleg, dotty, dragon, draw in,
   draw taut, ducking stool, eccentric, elbow, ell, energumen,
   enthusiast, erratic, exceptional, fad, fan, fanatic, fanatico,
   fancy, fantastic notion, fantasy, faultfinder, feist, fey,
   finger pillory, fire-eater, flake, flaky, flimflam, fool notion,
   fork, freak, freakish, freakish inspiration, frondeur, funny,
   furcate, furcation, fury, go around, go round, griper,
   grizzly bear, grouch, grouser, growler, grumbler, gyrate, gyre,
   handspike, harebrain, harebrained idea, hermit, hobo, hook,
   hothead, hotspur, humor, idiocratic, idiosyncratic, infatuate,
   inflection, iron crow, irregular, jimmy, kicker, kink, kinky, knee,
   kook, kooky, kvetch, lever, limb, lone wolf, loner, lunatic,
   lunatic fringe, maggot, maggoty, malcontent, marlinespike,
   maverick, megrim, meshuggenah, monomaniac, murmurer, mutterer,
   natural, nonconformist, nook, notion, nut, nutty, odd, odd fellow,
   oddball, oddity, original, outrigger, outsider, pariah,
   passing fancy, peavey, peculiar, pedal, pillory, pinch bar,
   pirouette, pivot, point, prize, pry, pull in, queer, queer duck,
   queer fish, queer specimen, querulous person, quirk, quirky, quoin,
   rara avis, reactionary, reactionist, rebel, recluse, reel, reel in,
   revolve, ripping bar, rotate, round, screw, screwball, screwy,
   singular, solitary, sorehead, sourpuss, spar, spin, stocks,
   strange, strange duck, swerve, swing, swivel, tackle, tauten,
   tighten, toy, tramp, treadle, treadmill, trebuchet, triangle,
   triangles, trim, turn, turn a pirouette, turn around, turn round,
   twist, twisted, type, ugly customer, unconventional, unnatural,
   vagary, veer, vertex, wacky, wamble, weirdo, wheel, whim,
   whim-wham, whimsical, whimsy, whiner, whipping post, winch, wind,
   wind in, windlass, wooden horse, wrecking bar, zag, zealot, zig,
   zigzag

[6] : Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)

crank vt. from automotive slang verb used to describe the performance
   of a machine, especially sustained performance. "this box cranks or,
   cranks at about 6 megaflops, with a burst mode of twice that on
   vectorized operations."

[7] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

crank
     
        automotive slang verb used to describe the performance of a
        machine, especially sustained performance.  "this box cranks
        or, cranks at about 6 megaflops, with a burst mode of twice
        that on vectorised operations."
     
        jargon file
     
        1994-12-01
     
     
see also:
jargon file 

Crank >> C Words
Crank, definition of term: Crank
crank_pag1.html

Crank Shaft >> C Words
Crank Shaft, definition of term: Crank Shaft
crank+shaft_pag1.html

Crank Call >> C Words
Crank Call, definition of term: Crank Call
crank+call_pag1.html

Bell Crank >> B Words
Bell Crank, definition of term: Bell Crank
bell+crank_pag1.html