# cloak

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkloʊk/ · frequency rank #13,483

## Definitions
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.
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.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **coa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-coa)
- **cook** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-cook)
- **coal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-coal)
- **coat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-coat)
- **cock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-cock)
- **cork** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-cork)
- **clot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-clot)
- **clog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-clog)
- **coax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-coax)
- **Clos** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-clos)
- **close** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-close)
- **cloud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-cloud)
- **clock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-clock)
- **cloth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-cloth)
- **clown** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-clown)
- **clone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-clone)
- **crook** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-crook)
- **clout** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-clout)
- **crock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-crock)
- **clove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloak-vs-clove)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ccloak`, `claok`, `clloak`, `cloakk`, `cloka`, `colak`, `lcoak`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cloak