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PlainSpell

berserk

ber·serk/ˈbɚˌsɚk/noun, adjective, verb

berserk is spelled B-E-R-S-E-R-K: 7 letters and 2 syllables (ber·serk). It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, berserk means “Synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy”)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of berserk is berserks.

How many letters and syllables are in berserk?

Letters7: B-E-R-S-E-R-K
Syllables2: ber·serk
In writing1.0 times per million words; the 28,556th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

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).

How common is berserk?

Berserk appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th 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 berserk?

  • UK /ˈbɜːsɜːk/
  • US /ˈbɚˌsɚk/
  • US /ˈbəˌsɚk/

Berserk has 2 syllables, split ber·serk in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-berserk.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of berserk

  • berserks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • beserk
  • berzerk
  • more berserk comparative
  • most berserk superlative
  • berserking participle, present
  • berserked participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does berserk mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy”).

adjective

  1. 1

    Furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control.

    After seeing his sister stabbed to death, he went berserk and attacked the killer like a wild animal.

  2. 2

    Bizarre; weird.

  3. 3

    rareslangWildly joyous; ecstatic.

verb

  1. 1

    To be or become berserk.

  2. 2

    To make berserk.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Berserk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchberserk (Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy – see also…), fou furieux (furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent…)
Germanausgeflippt, durchgedreht, rasend, wütend (furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent…)
Portuguesefora de controle (furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent…)
Spanishdesbocado, desmedido, desmadrado (furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does berserk come from?

The noun is borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights in a frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins which the warriors wore. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”); and serkr from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”). Alternatively, it has been suggested that the first element of the word is from berr (“bare, naked”), referring to warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserker.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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