awk
/ɔːk/adjective, interjection
awk is spelled A-W-K: 3 letters. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, awk means “Awkward; uncomfortable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in awk?
| Letters | 3: A-W-K |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,913th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 awk?
Awk appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th 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 awk?
- UK /ɔːk/
- US /ɔːk/
- /ɑːk/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-awk.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with awk
Sounds like: auk (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with awk?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as awk from its last stressed vowel (/ɔk/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: kaw.
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 awk
- more awk comparative
- most awk superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does awk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
obsoleteOdd; out of order; perverse.
- 2
obsoleteWrong, or not commonly used; clumsy; sinister.
- 3
UKobsoleteClumsy in performance or manners; not dexterous; awkward.
[…] 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 […]
- 4
USslangAwkward; uncomfortable.
adverb
- 1
obsoletePerversely; in the wrong way.
interjection
- 1
Alternative spelling of och.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does awk come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).