crouch

Plural: crouches

Noun

the act of bending low with the limbs close to the body
A bent or stooped position.
A cross.

Verb

Verb Forms: crouched, crouching, crouches

To stoop low with bent knees, often in preparation or concealment.
bend one's back forward from the waist on down
- "he crouched down"
sit on one's heels
To bend down; to stoop low; to stand close to the ground with legs bent, like an animal when waiting for prey, or someone in fear.
To bend servilely; to bow in reverence or humility.
To sign with the cross; bless.

Examples

He would CROUCH over the Words With Friends board, scrutinizing every tile as if preparing to pounce.
The cat waited in a crouch, hidden behind the hedge.
We crouched behind the low wall until the squad of soldiers had passed by.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English crouchen (“to bend, crouch”), variant of croken (“to bend, crook”), from crok (“crook, hook”), from Old Norse krókr (“hook”), from Proto-Germanic *krōkaz (“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerg- (“wicker, bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, wind, weave”). Compare Middle Dutch krōken (“to crook, curl”). More at crook.

Synonyms

bend, bow, hunker, hunker down, scrunch, scrunch up, squat, stoop, huddle

Scrabble Score: 13

crouch: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
crouch: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
crouch: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

crouch: valid Words With Friends Word