as the crow flies

Crow ¹  (kr)

n. pl. Crow or Crows In both senses also called Absaroke.

1.

a. A Native American people formerly inhabiting an area of the northern Great Plains between the Platte and Yellowstone rivers, now located in southeast Montana. The Crow became nomadic buffalo hunters after migrating west from the Missouri River in North Dakota in the 18th century.

b. A member of this people.

2. The Siouan language of the Crow.

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Crow ²  (kr)

n.

See Corvus.

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crow ¹  (kr)

n.

1. Any of several large glossy black birds of the genus Corvus, having a characteristic raucous call, especially C. brachyrhynchos of North America.

2. A crowbar.

Idiom:

as the crow flies

In a straight line.

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[Middle English croue, from Old English crwe; see ger-² in Indo-European roots. Sense 2, from the resemblance of its forked end to a crow's foot or beak.]

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crow ²  (kr)

intr.v. crowed, crow·ing, crows

1. To utter the shrill cry characteristic of a cock or rooster.

2. To exult loudly, as over another's defeat; boast. See Synonyms at boast¹.

3. To make a sound expressive of pleasure or well-being, characteristic of an infant.

n.

1. The shrill cry of a cock.

2. An inarticulate sound expressive of pleasure or delight.

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[Middle English crouen, from Old English crwan; see ger-² in Indo-European roots.]

Thesaurus

Adv.

1.

as the crow flies - by the shortest and most direct route; "it's 10 miles as the crow flies"