awk

/ɔːk/

//ɔːk// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"awk" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“awk” is uncommon English (frequency #65,707 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,707
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Odd; out of order; perverse.

Corpus desk

Index EN-awk · awk · English

awk · rank #65,707 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,707
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Aventura

Nearest frequency peer: Aventura (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “awk”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “awk” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for awk
PropertyValue
Headwordawk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɔːk/
Letters3
Frequency rank#65,707
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “awk” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).awkfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Aventura” (#65,706), “astound” (#65,704), “Baffin” (#65,710). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “awk” is #65,707. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

awk is uncommon English at frequency #65,707 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɔːk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

awk has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- Proto-Indo-European *h₂époh₃kʷos Proto-Germanic *abuhaz Old Norse ǫfugrder. Middle English awke English awk From Middle English awke, from Old Norse ǫfugr, ǫfigr, afigr (“turned backwards… The correct English form is awk, spelled A-W-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    Odd; out of order; perverse.
  2. 2
    Wrong, or not commonly used; clumsy; sinister.
  3. 3
    Clumsy in performance or manners; not dexterous; awkward.
  4. 4
    Awkward; uncomfortable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how awk appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. the awk end of hir charmed rod
  2. […] whose wild and madbrain humour nothing fitteth so just, as the stalest dudgen or absurdest balductum, that they or their mates can invent in odd and awk speeches […]

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- Proto-Indo-European *h₂époh₃kʷos Proto-Germanic *abuhaz Old Norse ǫfugrder. Middle English awke English awk From Middle English awke, from Old Norse ǫfugr, ǫfigr, afigr (“turned backwards”) (whence Danish avet (“backwards”), Swedish avig (“turned backwards”)), from Proto-Germanic *abuhaz. Cognate with German äbich, Gothic 𐌹𐌱𐌿𐌺𐍃 (ibuks, “turned back”). Akin to Sanskrit अपाच् (apāc, “turned away”). Compare dialectal Danish ave (“to turn”), Dutch averechts (“opposite, backwards, contrary”), Icelandic öfga (“to reverse”).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "awk"?
"awk" is spelled A-W-K. The IPA pronunciation is /ɔːk/.
What does "awk" mean?
As an adjective, "awk" means: Odd; out of order; perverse.
How do you pronounce "awk"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "awk" is /ɔːk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "awk"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- Proto-Indo-European *h₂époh₃kʷos Proto-Germanic *abuhaz Old Norse ǫfugrder. Middle English awke English awk From Middle English awke, from Old Norse ǫfugr, ǫfigr, afigr (“turned... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "awk", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

AoE#65,690aal#65,661A1C#65,660WOC#65,642

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list