English Reference
Verb

crease

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˈkɹis/ UK /kɹˈiːs/ crease UK spelling creases

v.to laugh so hard that you cannot stop. You use this when something is extremely funny.

v.to laugh uncontrollably or to cause someone else to do so. Often used in the passive voice or with a reflexive pronoun in informal British English.


SIMPLE

That joke really creases me every time I hear it.

CONTEXTUAL

The entire audience started to crease when the comedian's prop accidentally fell apart on stage.

COMPLEX

It is impossible to watch those old home videos without creasing, as the sheer absurdity of our childhood outfits becomes apparent to everyone in the room.

Usage

Often used in the phrase 'crease up' or 'creasing with laughter'.

Pitfall
I was creased of the jokeI was creased by the joke

When used in the passive sense to mean 'made to laugh', it takes the preposition 'by' or 'at', not 'of'.

There’s almost no crease in the screen, and the hinge is rock-solid.

Ars Technica· 14 Aug 2026

The screen also still has a fairly deep crease compared to the Z Fold 8, which has almost none now.

Ars Technica· 19 Aug 2026

From earlier English creast, from Middle English crest (“ridge, crest”). More at crest.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Middle English crest
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated