brook
/bɹʊk/verb, noun
brook is spelled B-R-O-O-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.5 times per million words in written English, the 10,519th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, brook means “To bear; endure; support; put up with; tolerate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in brook?
| Letters | 5: B-R-O-O-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.5 times per million words; the 10,519th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 brook?
Brook appears 5.5 times per million words in written English, the 10,519th 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 brook?
- US /bɹʊk/
- British /bɹɵk/
- /bɾʊk/
Brook 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: En-us-brook.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Brooke.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with brook?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as brook from its last stressed vowel (/ʊk/):
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 brook
- brooks present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- brooking participle, present
- brooked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does brook mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To bear; endure; support; put up with; tolerate.
brook no refusal
- 2
To enjoy the use of; make use of; profit by; to use, enjoy, possess, or hold.
- 3
obsoleteTo earn; deserve.
noun
- 1
USA body of running water smaller than a river; a small stream.
- 2
A water meadow, or (in the plural) low, marshy ground.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Brook in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ruisselet |
| German | Bach , Bruch |
| Portuguese | riacho, corgo, córrego |
| Spanish | arroyo, arroyuelo |
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 brook come from?
From Middle English brouken (“to use, enjoy”), from Old English brūcan (“to enjoy, brook, use, possess, partake of, spend”), from Proto-West Germanic *brūkan, from Proto-Germanic *brūkaną (“to enjoy, use”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg- (“to enjoy”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).