ack
/æk/noun, verb, interjection
ack is spelled A-C-K: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ack means “The letter A as used in signalling and other types of communications” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ack is acks.
How many letters and syllables are in ack?
| Letters | 3: A-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ack?
Ack appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ack?
- /æk/
As an interjection (“Expressing distaste, alarm, or trepidation”): /æ(ː)k/, /æ(ː)x/.
Ack has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-ack.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ack?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as ack.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: cak.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ack
- acks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- acking participle, present
- acked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ack mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The letter A as used in signalling and other types of communications.
- 2
acknowledgment signal
interjection
- 1
acknowledged
- 2
Expressing distaste, alarm, or trepidation.
- 3
offensiveMocking a transgender person by imitating the sound of choking during a suicide by hanging, evoking the notion that transgender people frequently commit suicide.
verb
- 1
offensiveTo commit suicide.
Ack yourself.
- 2
Alternative form of ACK.
noun
- 1
An acknowledgement either of a packet or a message received from a network.
verb
- 1
To acknowledge a packet or a message received from a network.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does ack come from?
Clipping of acknowledged.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).