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Related to crutch: crutch palsy
1. A support used by an injured or disabled person, often in pairs, as an aid to walking, having a vertical shaft that is sometimes forked, a horizontal grip for the hand, and a crosspiece that is positioned under the armpit or a cuff that wraps around the forearm.
2. Something on which one depends, often excessively: a mnemonic crutch.
3. A forked support or part.
4. A forked leg rest on a sidesaddle.
5. Archaic The crotch of a person or animal.
v. crutched, crutch·ing, crutch·es
To move using a crutch or crutches.
To support on a crutch or crutches.
[Middle English crucche, from Old English crycc.]
1. a long staff of wood or metal having a rest for the armpit, for supporting the weight of the body
2. something that supports or sustains: a crutch to the economy.
3. (Anatomy) Brit another word for crotch1
4. (Nautical Terms) nautical
a. a forked support for a boom or oar, etc
b. a brace for reinforcing the frames at the stern of a wooden vessel
5. (tr) to support or sustain (a person or thing) as with a crutch
6. (Agriculture) slang Austral and NZ to clip (wool) from the hindquarters of a sheep
[Old English crycc; related to Old High German krucka, Old Norse krykkja; see crosier, crook]
1. a staff or support to assist a lame or infirm person in walking, usu. having a crosspiece at one end to fit under the armpit.
2. anything that serves as a temporary support.
4. a forked support.
5. a forked support for the legs on the left side of a sidesaddle.v.t.
6. to support on or as if on crutches.
[before 900; Middle English crucche, Old English cryce (oblique crycce), c. Old Saxon krukka, Old High German chruch(j)a, Old Norse krykkja. compare crook1]
Past participle: crutched
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|Noun||1.||crutch - a wooden or metal staff that fits under the armpit and reaches to the ground; used by disabled person while walking|
staff - a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose; "he walked with the help of a wooden staff"
|2.||crutch - anything that serves as an expedient; "he uses drugs as a psychological crutch"|
expedient - a means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one