creek

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableAmericanAustralian

   A small narrow stream or minor river, especially one that is not deep or wide.

   Grammar: Countable: use 'a creek' or 'creeks' when talking about more than one.

   Patterns

   • a creek runs through something
   • cross a creek
   • by the creek

   The children caught tadpoles in the creek behind the school.

   A narrow creek runs along the edge of our farm.

   After the storm, the creek rose quickly and flooded the path.

2. 2nouncountableBritish

   A narrow sheltered inlet of the sea, especially one used as a small harbor.

   Grammar: Countable; often used in place names such as 'Creek Harbor'.

   Patterns

   • a tidal creek
   • anchor in a creek
   • a creek mouth

   We moored the boat in a quiet creek on the south coast.

   The old fishing village sits at the mouth of a tidal creek.

   At low tide you can walk across the sandy creek.

Word forms

Common combinations

up the creek

If the car breaks down here, we're really up the creek.

a creek bed

The creek bed was dry after weeks without rain.

wade across a creek

We had to wade across the creek to reach the campsite.

a shallow creek

The cattle drank from a shallow creek near the fence.

Synonyms and how they differ

stream

Use 'stream' for a general small flow of water; 'creek' is more common in American and Australian English and often suggests a narrower, less permanent watercourse.

brook

'Brook' is a literary or slightly old-fashioned word for a small stream; 'creek' is the everyday term in many regions.

inlet

'Inlet' is the general word for a narrow opening of water into land; 'creek' in British English often refers specifically to a small sheltered inlet.

Word family

creek bed noun

The dry channel where a creek flows or used to flow.

Commonly confused: creek or creak?

Practice

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