cruder; crudest
1
: marked by the primitive, gross, or elemental or by uncultivated simplicity or vulgarity
a crude stereotype
crude tools
crude jokes
2
: existing in a natural state and unaltered by cooking or processing
crude oil
crude ore
3
: rough or inexpert in plan or execution
a crude shelter
4
: lacking a covering, glossing, or concealing element : obvious
crude facts
5
: tabulated without being broken down into classes
the crude death rate
crudely
adverb
crudeness
noun
: a substance in its natural unprocessed state
especially
: unrefined petroleum
Synonyms
Examples of crude in a Sentence
Adjective
They built a crude shelter out of branches.
a crude summary of the country's history
She first described the procedure in crude terms, and then went into more detail.
Recent Examples on the Web
Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 22 Apr. 2024
China, which ignored the U.S. sanctions, became Venezuela’s main buyer and Iran its main supplier of chemicals needed to dilute and produce the country’s heavy crude oil.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crude 
Adjective
Oil prices dipped as crude oil inventories increased by 2.7 million barrels from the previous week.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 22 Apr. 2024
China, which ignored the U.S. sanctions, became Venezuela’s main buyer and Iran its main supplier of chemicals needed to dilute and produce the country’s heavy crude oil.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crude
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crude.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near crude
Cite this Entry
“Crude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crude. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
crude
2 of 2 noun
: crude oil
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