Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense crews, present participle crewing, past tense, past participle crewed
1. countable noun [with singular or plural verb]
The crew of a ship, an aircraft, or a spacecraft is the people who work on and operate it.
The mission for the crew of the space shuttle is essentially over. [+ of]
Despite their size, these vessels carry small crews, usually of around twenty men.
The surviving crew members were ferried ashore.
Synonyms: (ship's) company, hands, (ship's) complement More Synonyms of crew
2. countable noun
A crew is a group of people with special technical skills who work together on a task or project.
...a two-man film crew making a documentary.
A paramedic ambulance crew went to the accident scene.
Synonyms: team, company, party, squad More Synonyms of crew
3. verb
If you crew a boat, you work on it as part of the crew.
She took part in ocean races and crewed on yachts. [VERB]
There were to be five teams of three crewing the boat. [VERB noun]
...a fully-crewed yacht. [VERB-ed]
4. singular noun [with singular or plural verb]
You can use crew to refer to a group of people you disapprove of.
[informal, disapproval]
...the motley crew of failed and aspiring actors who comprised the 'distinguishedguests'. [+ of]
...one of the youngest members of a criminal crew.
More Synonyms of crew
crew in British English1
(kruː)
noun(sometimes functioning as plural)
1.
the people who serve on or operate a ship, boat, aircraft, etc
2. nautical
a group of people assigned to a particular job or type of work
3. informal
a gang, company, or crowd
verb
4.
to serve on (a ship) as a member of the crew
Word origin
C15 crue (military) reinforcement, from Old French creue augmentation, from Old French creistre to increase, from Latin crescere
crew in British English2
(kruː)
verb
a past tense of crow2
crew in American English1
(kruː)
noun
1.
a group of persons involved in a particular kind of work or working together
the crew of a train
a wrecking crew
2. Nautical
a.
the people who sail or operate a ship or boat
b.
the common sailors of a ship's company
c.
a particular gang of a ship's company
3.
the people who fly or operate an aircraft or spacecraft
4.
the team that rows a racing shell
varsity crew
5.
the sport of racing with racing shells
He went out for crew in his freshman year
6.
a company; crowd
He and his crew of friends filled the room
7.
any force or band of armed fighters
transitive verb
8.
to serve as a member of a crew on (a ship, aircraft, etc.)
9.
to obtain or employ a crew for (a ship, aircraft, etc.)
intransitive verb
10.
to serve as a member of a crew
Derived forms
crewless
adjective
Word origin
[1425–75; late ME crewe augmentation, hence reinforcements, body of soldiers ‹ MF creue, lit., increase, n. use of fem. of OF creu, ptp. of creistre to grow ‹ L crēscere; see crescent]
crew in American English2
(kruː)
verb
a pt. of crow2
COBUILD Collocations
crew
emergency crew
entire crew
rescue crew
Examples of 'crew' in a sentence
crew
My thoughts are with all the families of the passengers and crew!
The Sun (2016)
After fire crews left the scene the pupils were allowed to go home to change.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Ambulance crews wondered whether they would be targeted while tending to the wounded.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The five surviving crew were rescued by the Japanese boats they had been trying to destroy.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Bosses are said to be worried other cast and crew members could be struck down, putting the quality of the show at risk.
The Sun (2016)
She was about to walk outside when an aide pointed out that there was a TV crew waiting.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
On the day he was due to set off three of the crew bailed out for'personal reasons '.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The internet might be slow on the ship and crew quarters are often small so you can't take much stuff and you'll probably be sharing a room.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He was a danger to the crew and passengers.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The organisers run a website forum to match yachts looking for crew with people wanting to sail.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The man was pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance crews.
The Sun (2014)
Britain sailors or crews are in medal positions in four classes.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The crew carry umbrellas with which they try to shield the actors from prying camera lenses.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The ship and its crew were safe.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The behaviour was observed by a boat crew and recorded using tagging devices.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This documentary uses interviews with crew and dramatic reconstruction to tell the story.
The Sun (2007)
Twenty of the crew escaped on three small boats.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
We are addressing the matter with the cabin crew member involved.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Beginners can learn sailing skills while experienced sailors can crew their own yachts.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They made up the most motley of crews.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Three seconds covers the top five crews in the world.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
You could feel the embarrassed disgust of cast and crew.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
There was minimal delay to the patient being cared for by a full paramedic crew.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Is this the right thing for a documentary crew to be doing?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Perhaps half would have been crew to man the sails and to row when the wind was weak.
Christianity Today (2000)
The crew told the passengers that the damage was not serious and the boat continued on its way.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The airline has begun training volunteers from other areas of the business to work as crew and keep aircraft flying.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The technical crew had been paid.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
No one else was lunching except my TV crew.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
crew
British English: crew /kruː/ NOUN
The crew of a ship, an aircraft, or a spacecraft consists of the people who work on it and operate it. Crew can take the singular or plural form of the verb.
...the crew of the space shuttle.
American English: crew
Arabic: طاقِم
Brazilian Portuguese: tripulação
Chinese: 全体人员
Croatian: posada
Czech: posádka
Danish: besætning
Dutch: bemanning
European Spanish: tripulación
Finnish: miehistö
French: équipage
German: Besatzung
Greek: πλήρωμα
Italian: equipaggio
Japanese: 乗組員
Korean: 승무원
Norwegian: mannskap
Polish: załoga
European Portuguese: tripulação
Romanian: echipaj
Russian: команда
Latin American Spanish: tripulación
Swedish: besättning
Thai: ลูกเรือ
Turkish: tayfa
Ukrainian: екіпаж
Vietnamese: thủy thủ đoàn
British English: crew VERB
If you crew a boat, you work on it as part of the crew.
This neighbor crewed on a ferryboat.
The lifeboat was, for the men who crewed her, quite simply the best all-round boat.
American English: crew
Brazilian Portuguese: tripular
Chinese: 当船员
European Spanish: formar parte de la tripulación
French: faire parte de l'équipage
German: Besatzungsmitglied sein
Italian: far parte dell'equipaggio di
Japanese: 乗組員として働く
Korean: 승무원으로 일하다
European Portuguese: tripular
Latin American Spanish: formar parte de la tripulación
All related terms of 'crew'
crow
A crow is a large black bird which makes a loud , harsh noise .
crew cab
A crew cab is a cab in a vehicle such as a fire engine that has been extended with a second row of seats to carry additional crew.
crew cut
A crew cut is a hairstyle in which the hair is cut very short .
crew neck
A crew neck or a crew neck sweater is a sweater with a round neck.
film crew
a group of people who are involved in the practical and technical business of shooting a film
fire crew
team of fire fighters
gun crew
the officers and men in charge of a ship's guns
cabin crew
The cabin crew on an aircraft are the people whose job is to look after the passengers.
camera crew
a group of people who are involved in the operation of a film camera
crew member
A crew member is a person who is part of a crew.
entire crew
The crew of a ship, an aircraft, or a spacecraft is the people who work on and operate it.
flight crew
the crew responsible for an aircraft during a flight
ground crew
At an airport, the people who look after the planes when they are on the ground are called the ground crew .
rescue crew
A crew is a group of people with special technical skills who work together on a task or project.
drilling crew
The drilling crew are the people who operate a drilling rig .
ambulance crew
the team of people who work in an ambulance
emergency crew
A crew is a group of people with special technical skills who work together on a task or project.
maintenance crew
a group of people who work together to keep a road , building, vehicle, or machine in good condition by regularly checking it and repairing it when necessary
aircrew
The aircrew on a plane are the pilot and other people who are responsible for flying it and for looking after any passengers who are on it.