crutch Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a wooden or metal staff that fits under the armpit and reaches to the ground; used by disabled person while walking
  2. noun anything that serves as an expedient
    • he uses drugs as a psychological crutch

WordNet

Crutch noun
Etymology
OE. cruche, AS. crycc, cricc; akin to D. kruk, G. krcke, Dan. krykke, Sw. krycka, and to E. crook. See Crook, and cf. Cricket a low stool.
Wordforms
plural Crutches
Definitions
  1. A staff with a crosspiece at the head, to be placed under the arm or shoulder, to support the lame or infirm in walking.
    I'll lean upon one crutch, and fight with the other. Shak.
    Rhyme is a crutch that lifts the weak alone. H. Smith.
  2. A form of pommel for a woman's saddle, consisting of a forked rest to hold the leg of the rider.
  3. (Naut.) (a) A knee, or piece of knee timber. (b) A forked stanchion or post; a crotch. See Crotch.
Crutch transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To support on crutches; to prop up. R.
    Two fools that crutch their feeble sense on verse. Dryden.

Webster 1913