English Lexicon

Creek

/kriːk/
nounCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #3450 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A natural stream of water normally smaller than and often tributary to a river.

    "The children skipped flat stones across the shallow creek."
  2. 2

    A narrow inlet or recess in a sea coast or river bank.

    "The small fishing boats were safely moored in the sheltered creek."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from Middle English creke, which traces back to Old Norse kriki meaning a nook, corner, or bend. Historically, it evolved to designate a small inlet or narrow recess of a water body before shifting primarily in North America, Australia, and New Zealand to mean a small stream or tributary.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Creek"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Creek"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Creek" Synonym Map