MEANING
To produce a low, rough voice or animal call.
Use it for
A damaged voice; barely intelligible speech; an unnatural animal-like utteranceLet reduced vocal strength carry vulnerability or bodily alteration.
Words that belong together
- croak a warning
- croaking voice
- croak from the throat
On the page
He croaked her name through cracked lips.
A voice croaked from the body on the table.
She tried to shout, but only a broken warning croaked out.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- croak / croaks
- Past tense
- croaked
- Past participle
- croaked
- Present participle
- croaking
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- croak / croaks
- Present continuous
- am/is/are croaking
- Present perfect
- have/has croaked
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been croaking
- Past
- croaked
- Past continuous
- was/were croaking
- Past perfect
- had croaked
- Past perfect continuous
- had been croaking
- Future
- will croak / croaks
- Future continuous
- will be croaking
- Future perfect
- will have croaked
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been croaking
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Not necessarily fear or illness; a frog also croaks. The informal sense die is separate and should not be mistaken for the sound sense. Verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: croak, croaks, croaked, croaked, croaking. Derived/related family (not inflections): croaky (adjective).
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