cron

C3R1O1N1

noun

A scheduler or timer that automatically starts a job, program, task.

OriginAncient Greek χρόνος →
Less commonScrabble 6
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

cron1

nouncron (uncountable)
  1. uncountablecomputingA scheduler or timer that automatically starts a job, program, task.

Cron2

proper nounCron (plural Crons)

plural Crons

  1. A surname.

Origin

cron · noun

  1. Ancient Greekχρόνος“time”
  2. Englishcron

From chrono-, from Ancient Greek χρόνος (khrónos, “time”). Originating as the name of a specific program, but since generalized to analogous ones.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Cron · proper noun

  1. Proto-Brythonic*krunn
  2. fro-piccron“bent, curved”
  3. Scottish GaelicMac Cróin“son of the swarthy one”
  4. EnglishCron

* As a Scottish surname, variant of Crone, itself shortened from McCrone, from Scottish Gaelic Mac Cróin (“son of the swarthy one”), from crón (“swarthy”). * As a German, Jewish, and Swedish surname, Americanized/variant of Kron. * As a French surname, from the regional word crone (“water hole”). * Also as a French surname, from Picard Old French cron (“bent, curved”), itself probably a Germanic borrowing akin to Proto-Germanic *krumpaz or a similar variant. * As a Breton surname, from kronn (“round, rounded”), from Proto-Brythonic *krunn.

More words from Scottish Gaelic, fro-pic, Proto-Brythonic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

corn
Cite this entry
APA

cron. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cron

MLA

“cron.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cron. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cron,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cron.

Source: cron on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.