crank

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 (disapproving) a person with ideas that other people find strange: Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. * Everybody famous gets crank calls and letters. 2 (AmE) a person who easily gets angry or annoyed: The old crank next door can't stand the sound of our lawnmower. 3 a bar and handle in the shape of an L that you pull or turn to produce movement in a machine, etc. verb [VN] ~ sth (up) to make sth turn or move by using a crank: to crank an engine * (figurative) He has a limited time to crank the reforms into action. PHRASALVERBS crank sth<->out (AmE, informal) to produce a lot of sth quickly, especially things of low quality SYNTURNOUT crank sth<->up (informal) 1 to make a machine, etc. work or work at a higher level 2 to make music, etc. louder SYNTURNUP: Crank up the volume!