noun
crank
A person who is easily annoyed and often complains.
He becomes a crank when he misses sleep.
Etymology
Crank developed personal uses for someone eccentric or difficult, alongside associations with something crooked or out of the ordinary. The irritable-person sense emphasizes troublesome temperament rather than an unusual belief.
More examples
- The story's old crank complains about everything.
- Don't be such a crank about a little noise.
- She apologized for sounding like a crank.
Forms
crank · cranks
cranky adjective — irritable
Similar words
- grump
- A habitually irritable person.
- grouch
- Someone who complains or acts bad-tempered.