Commonly Confused Words: Creak vs. Creek

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What does each word mean?

A creak is a squeaking sound like the one made by a stair.

Here is creak used in some example sentences:

  • Watch out for the creaking stair.
  • We heard an ominous creak.
  • The rocking chair creaked but no one was sitting in it.

Look up creak in the Spellzone dictionary.

A creek is a stream of water that is smaller than a river.

Here is creek used in some example sentences:

  • The bubbling creek was peaceful to listen to.
  • They live on the other side of the creek.
  • The creek connects to the river.

Look up creek in the Spellzone dictionary.


Where does each word come from?

The word creak dates to the early-fourteenth century and comes from ‘crecken’ which means ‘to utter a harsh cry’. Both creak and ‘crecken’ are examples of onomatopoeia. Creak has been used since the 1580s to describe the noise made by rusty hinges, wooden floorboards, and old bones; and since around 1600 to describe a ‘harsh grating sound’.

Creek dates to the mid-fifteenth century and comes from ‘creke’ which means ‘narrow inlet in a coastline’ and is an alteration of the early-thirteenth century ‘kryk’. ‘Kryk’ might come from the Old Norse ‘kriki’ meaning ‘corner’ or ‘nook’.

 

Are there any tricks to help remember the difference these words?

Compare creak to squeak – another onomatopoeic word that’s spelt with an eak.

Think of the two ees in creek as flowing one after the other like the water in a creek.

 

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20 Oct 2022
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"This is a fantastic opportunity for our students!  I'm sure Spellzone will be invaluable in helping them to improve their spellings and therefore improve the quality of their writing in all subject areas!"

Teacher, High School, UK