creakcreak /kriːk/ ●○○ verb [intransitive] 
Word Origin Examples
The floorboards creaked as she walked across the room. The door creaked open.► see thesaurus at sound—creak noun [countable]
Word OriginWORD ORIGINcreak
Verb TableOrigin:
1300-1400 From the soundVERB TABLE
creak
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | creak |
| he, she, it | creaks | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | creaked |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have creaked |
| he, she, it | has creaked | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had creaked |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will creak |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have creaked |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am creaking |
| he, she, it | is creaking | |
| you, we, they | are creaking | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was creaking |
| you, we, they | were creaking | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been creaking |
| he, she, it | has been creaking | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been creaking |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be creaking |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been creaking |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- In the hall the flooboards creaked and the walls were damp.
- The key clicked inside the lock and the door creaked open.
- Down the street a gate creaked open then snapped shut.
- Elsewhere in the financial system, the creaking noises are getting louder.
- Listen with the ears of psychohistory, and you will hear the creaking.
- Meanwhile, that part of the building shifted, rising and falling with the seasons, and the floors creaked constantly.
- Old panelling, creaking stairways and sloping floors remain.
- The F2B creaked through a 180-degree turn and began photographing another strip.
- The sky was clear, the stars were beautiful and the snow creaked underfoot.
- Then the gate creaked, setting off a drumroll in his heart.
THESAURUSa high sound► squeak
Collocations a very short high sound or cry: · I heard the squeak of his shoes on the tiled floor.· Annie gave a squeak of surprise.
► creak a long high sound that something makes when someone opens it, walks on it, sits on it etc – used especially about a door, wooden floor, bed, or stairs: · the creak of floorboards· The door opened with a creak.
► screech a loud, long, unpleasantly high sound – used especially about someone’s voice, or about brakes, tyres etc: · There was a screech of tyres followed by a bang.· She let out a screech of horror.
► beep (also bleep British English) a high electronic sound that a machine sends out, especially in order to attract someone’s attention: · You’ll hear a bleep when the photocopier’s finished printing.
Longman Language Activatorto make a high sound► creak if something creaks , especially something wooden such as a door, bed, or stair, it makes a long, high noise when someone puts pressure on it: · In the hall the floorboards creaked and the walls were damp.creak open: · The key clicked inside the lock and the door creaked open.
► squeak if something squeaks , it makes a very high noise as it is moved, pushed etc, especially because two parts of it cannot rub smoothly together: · His chair squeaked loudly as he swivelled round to face me.· The rubber soles of my shoes squeaked on the shiny floor.
► screech to make a loud, long, unpleasant high sound, like the sound made by car tyres when the car stops suddenly: · The train screeched as it pulled into the station.
WORD SETS► COLOURS & SOUNDSablaze, adjectiveacoustic, adjectiveacoustics, nounaglow, adjectivebaa, verbbabble, verbbabble, nounbabel, nounbaby talk, nounbackfire, verbbackground, nounbang, nounbang, verbbang, interjectionbark, verbbark, nounbattle cry, nounbay, verbbeat, verbbeat, nounbellow, verbbellow, nounblare, verbblast, nounbleat, verbbleep, nounbleep, verbblip, nounbong, nounboom, nounboom, verbbowwow, interjectionbrassy, adjectivebray, verbbrazen, adjectivebreathy, adjectivebubble, verbbump, nounchatter, verbchatter, nounclink, verbclink, nouncrack, verbcrack, nouncrackle, verbcrackling, nouncrash, verbcrash, nouncreak, verbcreaky, adjectivecroak, verbcroak, nouncrow, nouncrow, verbcrunch, nouncrunch, verbding-dong, noundiscord, noundiscordant, adjectivedrone, verbdrone, noundrown, verbdrum, verbdrumbeat, noundrumming, noundull, adjectiveecho, verbecho, nounfizz, verbflat, adjectivefootfall, nounfootstep, nounfusillade, noungrinding, adjectivegroan, verbgroan, noungrunt, verbgrunt, nounguffaw, verbgunshot, nounguttural, adjectivehigh, adjectivehigh, adverbhiss, verbindistinct, adjectiveirregular, adjectivelow, verbmarbled, adjectivematching, adjectivemellow, adjectivemelodic, adjectivemelodious, adjectivemetallic, adjectivemoan, verbmoan, nounmodulate, verbmonotone, nounmoo, verbmurmur, verbmurmur, nounmusical, adjectivemusically, adverbmute, verbnasal, adjectivenoise, nounoink, interjectionoof, interjectionpatter, verbpatter, nounpeal, nounpeal, verbpenetrating, adjectivepercussion, nounpsychedelic, adjectivepulse, nounputter, verbquack, verbquack, nounquaver, nounracket, nounrasp, verbrasp, nounraspberry, nounrat-a-tat, nounrattle, nounraucous, adjectivereedy, adjectivereport, nounresonance, nounresonant, adjectiveresonate, verbresonator, nounresound, verbresounding, adjectivereverberate, verbreverberation, nounrich, adjectivering, nounring, verbringing, adjectiveripple, verbripple, nounroar, nounroaring, adjectiveroll, verbrough, adjectiverustle, verbrustle, nounscratch, verbscratch, nounscream, verbscream, nounscrunch, verbsmoky, adjectivesnarl, verbsoft, adjectivesoft-spoken, adjectivesonorous, adjectivesotto voce, adverbsplosh, verbsweet, adjectiveswoosh, verbtick-tock, nountinny, adjectivetonal, adjectivevivid, adjectivevowel, nounwail, verbweak, adjectivewhack, nounwham, interjectionwhine, verbwhinny, verbwhirr, verbwhistle, verbwhistle, nounyelp, nounyowl, verbzoom, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► chair
if something such as a door, wooden floor, old bed, or stair creaks, it makes a long high noise when someone opens it, walks on it, sits on it etc: · The chair creaked alarmingly under his weight.
► door· The door creaked open and Berger stepped in, Eggar at his back.· The car door creaked open, slammed shut, and then footsteps raced toward the garage.· I was nearly at the cubicle door when it creaked open and something squeezed out to take hold of me.· She pushed against the door, it creaked open and she fell out on to the damp grassy verge.· The door creaked open an inch.· I scurried under the tractor as the doors began to creak open.· The door creaks open or thumps shut hundreds of times a day 5 feet from the nest.
VERB► hear· After a while, through the partially open cabin hatch, she heard the bed creak beneath his weight.· Listen with the ears of psychohistory, and you will hear the creaking.· As we camped next to the ice, we could hear it creaking and moaning long into the night.· Wyatt had said later that you could almost hear his mouth muscles creaking.
The floorboards creaked as she walked across the room. The door creaked open.► see thesaurus at sound—creak noun [countable]