cloak
/kloʊk/noun, verb
cloak is spelled C-L-O-A-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cloak means “A long outer garment worn over the shoulders covering the back; a cape, often with a hood” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cloak is cloaks.
How many letters and syllables are in cloak?
| Letters | 5: C-L-O-A-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.7 times per million words; the 13,496th 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 cloak?
Cloak appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th 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 cloak?
- UK /kləʊk/
- US /kloʊk/
- Australia /kləʉk/
Cloak 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-cloak.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cloak?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cloak from its last stressed vowel (/oʊk/):
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 cloak
- cloaks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- cloaking participle, present
- cloaked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cloak mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A long outer garment worn over the shoulders covering the back; a cape, often with a hood.
- 2
A blanket-like covering, often metaphorical.
Night hid her movements with its cloak of darkness.
- 3
That which conceals; a disguise or pretext.
- 4
A text replacement for an IRC user's hostname or IP address, making the user less identifiable.
verb
- 1
To cover as with or like a cloak.
- 2
To cover up, hide or conceal.
- 3
To render or become invisible via futuristic technology.
The ship cloaked before entering the enemy sector of space.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cloak in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pelisse, pèlerine |
| German | Umhang, Pelerine , Deckmantel , verhüllen |
| Portuguese | capa, manto , véu |
| Spanish | pendil, palio, percal , embozo, velo , capa |
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 cloak come from?
From Middle English cloke, from Old Northern French cloque (“travelling cloak”), from Medieval Latin clocca (“travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called from the garment’s bell-like shape”), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos, ultimately imitative. Doublet of cloche and clock.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).