Meaning & use
the crud
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Meanings
noununcountableinformalhumorous
A vague, unpleasant illness that is not serious, such as a cold or a stomach bug that someone cannot name exactly.
Grammar: Used with the and no plural: she has the crud, not she has a crud.
Patterns
- have the crud
- come down with the crud
- give someone the crud
Half the office is out with the crud this week.
I think I picked up the crud on the train, because my throat hurts and my head is pounding.
Stay away from the baby, because I still have the crud.
noununcountableinformal
Dirty, sticky or disgusting material that builds up on a surface and is hard to clean off.
Grammar: Usually follows a verb of cleaning or removal: scrub off the crud.
Patterns
- scrape the crud off something
- the crud in something
He spent an hour scraping the crud off the oven door.
There was a thick layer of crud at the bottom of the fish tank.
Use a stiff brush to get the crud out of the grooves.
Common combinations
- come down with the crud
- My brother came down with the crud just before the holidays.
- going around
- There is some kind of crud going around the school.
- scrape off the crud
- Scrape off the crud before you paint the fence.
- a layer of crud
- A layer of crud had formed on the bathroom tiles.
- shake the crud
- I can't seem to shake the crud, even after a week.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bug
- Bug is more widely used and sounds a little more precise, since it suggests a specific infection, while the crud is deliberately vague and jokey.
- lurgy
- Lurgy is a British, playful word for an imaginary illness, whereas the crud is more common in American speech.
- grime
- Grime names dirt on a surface in a neutral way, while crud adds a feeling of disgust.
- gunk
- Gunk stresses thick, sticky mess, and it is rarely used for illness.
Word family
Commonly confused: the crud or crude?
the crud vs crude
Crude means rough, unrefined or rude, as in crude oil or a crude joke. It is not a spelling variant of crud.
Practice
Which sentence uses the crud in its usual informal way?
Choose one answer.
The crud is an informal noun for a vague mild illness, so only the second sentence works. The others use it as an abstract noun or an adjective, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “the crud”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.