crony

noun

cro·​ny ˈkrō-nē How to pronounce crony (audio)
plural cronies
Synonyms of cronynext
: a close friend usually of long standing : pal
played golf with his cronies
often, specifically : a person who unfairly receives special treatment see also cronyism, crony capitalism

Synonyms

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Examples of crony in a Sentence

The mayor rewarded his cronies with high-paying jobs after he was elected. the criminal's cronies were also closely questioned about the illegal gambling operation
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
No one wants this except Trump and his cronies, who are living in a fantasy world. — arkansasonline.com, 10 Mar. 2025 Properties in San Francisco, across California, and in New York were often disguised under dummy corporations or linked to cronies. — Ryan MacAsero, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025 Eric Adams has been a lousy mayor for the most part, one who couldn’t see the loaf for the crumbs and squandered his political capital on maintaining a dizzying array of corrupt friends and cronies. — Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2025 Zoom in: The jury could not decide whether Madigan and McClain ran a secret system that placed political cronies at private companies like AT&T and ComEd in exchange for favorable legislation. — Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 12 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for crony

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from Greek chronios long-lasting, from chronos time

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of crony was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing crony

Rhymes for crony

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Browse Nearby Words

crony
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Cite this Entry

“Crony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crony. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

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Kids Definition

crony

noun
cro·​ny ˈkrō-nē How to pronounce crony (audio)
plural cronies
: a close companion : pal
politicians who get jobs for their cronies

More from Merriam-Webster on crony

Nglish: Translation of crony for Spanish Speakers

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