croak

/kroʊk/

/krəʊk/

Other forms: croaking; croaked; croaks

A croak is the low, hoarse sound a frog makes. Crows and people with sore throats can croak, too. It’s also a slang word for “die.” When people croak, they need either a glass of water or an undertaker.

Croak is a noun or a verb. A bullfrog’s croak can be very loud. A parched cowboy might croak, “howdy.” Another meaning of the word is "die," as in, "I'm sorry your hamster's dead, but you knew he was going to croak soon.” This kind of croak came from the popular idea that people make a distinctive sound just before they die, a "death rattle." Now there’s something to look forward to!

Definitions of croak

1. noun

   a harsh hoarse utterance (as of a frog)
   synonyms: croaking

   type of:

   utterance, vocalization

   the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
2. verb

   utter a hoarse sound, like a raven
   synonyms: cronk

   type of:

   emit, let loose, let out, utter

   express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words)
3. verb

   make complaining remarks or noises under one's breath
   synonyms: gnarl, grumble, murmur, mutter

   type of:

   complain, kick, kvetch, plain, quetch, sound off

   express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
4. verb

   pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
   synonyms: buy the farm, cash in one's chips, choke, conk, decease, die, drop dead, exit, expire, give-up the ghost, go, kick the bucket, pass, pass away, perish, pop off, snuff it

   break, break down, conk out, die, fail, give out, give way, go, go bad

   stop operating or functioning

   die

   suffer or face the pain of death

   types:

   abort

   cease development, die, and be aborted

   asphyxiate, stifle, suffocate

   be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen

   buy it, pip out

   be killed or die;

   drown

   die from being submerged in water, getting water into the lungs, and asphyxiating

   predecease

   die before; die earlier than

   famish, starve

   die of food deprivation

   fall

   die, as in battle or in a hunt

   succumb, yield

   be fatally overwhelmed

   strangle

   die from strangulation

   type of:

   change state, turn

   undergo a transformation or a change of position or action