Yoke or yolk?
yoke is a noun meaning “A bar or frame by which two oxen or other draught animals are joined at their…”; yolk is a noun meaning “The yellow, spherical part of an egg that is surrounded by the white albumen…”. They sound the same (/jəʊk/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) yoke is about as common as yolk.
What is the difference between yoke and yolk?
| yoke | yolk | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | A bar or frame by which two oxen or other draught animals are joined at their necks enabling them to pull a cart, plough, etc.; two draught animals connected… Any of various linking or supporting objects that resembles a yoke (sense 1.1); a crosspiece, a curved bar, etc To join (several draught animals) together with a yoke; also, to fasten a yoke (on one or more draught animals) to pull a cart, plough, etc.; or to attach (a… | The yellow, spherical part of an egg that is surrounded by the white albumen, and serves as nutriment for the growing young The grease in a sheep's fleece; lanolin To produce yolk |
| Example | Ranchers were yoked together with farmers on the issue | To make meringue, you have to separate the white from the yolk |
| Forms | yokes | yolks |
| Pronunciation | /jəʊk/ /joʊk/ | /jəʊk/ /joʊk/ /joʊlk/ |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words | 1.1 times per million words |
Sources: yoke and yolk in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of yoke and yolk
yoke
- 1
A bar or frame by which two oxen or other draught animals are joined at their necks enabling them to pull a cart, plough, etc.; two draught animals connected by such a yoke; (by extension) a device…
- 2
To join (several draught animals) together with a yoke; also, to fasten a yoke (on one or more draught animals) to pull a cart, plough, etc.; or to attach (a cart, plough, etc.) to a draught animal
- 3
radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter Y
- 4
Any of various linking or supporting objects that resembles a yoke (sense 1.1); a crosspiece, a curved bar, etc
- 5
To put (one's arm or arms) around someone's neck, waist, etc.; also, to surround (someone's neck, waist, etc.) with one's arms
- 6
A pole carried on the neck and shoulders of a person, used for carrying a pair of buckets, etc., one at each end of the pole; a carrying pole
- 7
To put (something) around someone's neck like a yoke; also, to surround (someone's neck) with something
- 8
Any of various devices with crosspieces used to control an aircraft; specifically, the control column
yolk
- 1
The yellow, spherical part of an egg that is surrounded by the white albumen, and serves as nutriment for the growing young
To make meringue, you have to separate the white from the yolk
- 2
To produce yolk
- 3
The grease in a sheep's fleece; lanolin
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, yoke or yolk?
yoke appears 1.2 times per million words; yolk 1.1 times per million words.
yoke 1.2 times per million wordsyolk 1.1 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search yoke vs yolk?
“yoke vs yolk” is searched about 720 times a month on Google and 20 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“yolk vs yoke”, “yoke or yolk”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.