crease / krēs/ • n. 1. a line or ridge produced on paper or cloth by folding, pressing, or crushing it: khaki trousers with knife-edge creases. ∎  a wrinkle or furrow in the skin, typically of the face, caused by age or a particular facial expression.2. (usu. the crease) an area around the goal in ice hockey or lacrosse that attacking players may not normally enter unless the puck or ball has already done so. ∎  Cricket any of a number of lines marked on the pitch at specified places, esp. the position of a batsman.• v. [tr.] 1. make a crease in (cloth or paper): he sank into the chair, careful not to crease his dinner jacket | [as adj.] (creased) a creased piece of paper. ∎  cause a crease to appear temporarily in (the face or its features), typically as a result of the expression of an emotion or feeling.2. (of a bullet) graze (someone or something), causing little damage.

crease sb. and vb. XV. In XVI–XVII also creast, which was a frequent var. of CREST; orig. crēst, which was reduced to crease by assim. to the var. cress (XVI–XVII) of the vb., the mark of a fold being looked on as a ridge in the material.