burke
/bɜː(ɹ)k/verb, noun
burke is spelled B-U-R-K-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, burke means “To murder by suffocation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in burke?
| Letters | 5: B-U-R-K-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.4 times per million words; the 8,669th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| 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 burke?
Burke appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th 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 burke?
- /bɜː(ɹ)k/
Burke 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-burke.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with burke
Sounds like: Bourke, berk, birk, burk (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: berk.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with burke?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as burke.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: burek.
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 burke
- burkes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- burking participle, present
- burked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does burke mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
AustraliaIrelandUKslangTo murder by suffocation.
As soon as the executioner proceeded to his duty, the cries of ‘Burke him, Burke him–give him no rope’... were vociferated... ‘Burke Hare too!’
- 2
AustraliaIrelandUKslangTo murder for the same purpose as Burke, to kill in order to have a body to sell to anatomists, surgeons, etc.
- 3
AustraliaIrelandUKslangTo smother; to conceal, hush up, suppress.
noun
- 1
UKslangAlternative form of berk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does burke come from?
Eponymous, from William Burke.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).