flock
/flɑk/noun, verb
flock is spelled F-L-O-C-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, flock means “A large number of animals associated together in a group; commonly used of sheep, but (dated) also used for goats or other livestock animals, or…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of flock is flocks.
How many letters and syllables are in flock?
| Letters | 5: F-L-O-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.9 times per million words; the 11,373rd 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 flock?
Flock appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd 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 flock?
- UK /flɒk/
- US /flɑk/
Flock 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-flock.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with flock?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as flock from its last stressed vowel (/ɑk/):
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 flock
- flocks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- flocking participle, present
- flocked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does flock mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A large number of animals associated together in a group; commonly used of sheep, but (dated) also used for goats or other livestock animals, or sometimes any group of animals.
- 2
The group of sheep being watched by one shepherd.
- 3
A large number of people.
- 4
Those served by a particular pastor or shepherd.
- 5
A religious congregation.
- 6
Coarse tufts of wool or cotton used in bedding.
- 7
A lock of wool or hair.
- 8
Very fine sifted woollen refuse, especially that from shearing the nap of cloths, formerly used as a coating for wallpaper to give it a velvety or clothlike appearance; also, the dust of vegetable fibre used for a similar purpose.
verb
- 1
To congregate in or head towards a place in large numbers.
People flocked to the cinema to see the new film.
- 2
obsoleteTo flock to; to crowd.
- 3
To coat a surface with dense fibers or particles; especially, to create a dense arrangement of fibers with a desired nap.
the sampling and elution advantages of flocked swabs versus spun swabs
- 4
To cover a Christmas tree with artificial snow.
- 5
To treat a pool with chemicals to remove suspended particles.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Flock in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vol, bande, groupe, nuée , troupeau , congrégation |
| German | Schwarm, Schar , Herde , strömen, sich scharen |
| Portuguese | bando , rebanho , congregação , arrebanhar , floco |
| Spanish | bandada, pajarería , hato, manada, rebaño , congregación |
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 flock come from?
From Middle English flok, from Old English flocc (“flock, company, troop”), from Proto-West Germanic *flokk, from Proto-Germanic *flukkaz (“crowd, troop”). Cognate with German Low German Flock (“crowd, flock”), Danish flok (“flock”), Swedish flock (“flock”), Norwegian flokk (“flock”), Faroese flokkur (“flock”), Icelandic flokkur (“flock, group”). Related also to Norman fliotchet (“flock, crowd”), from Old Norse. Perhaps related to Old English folc (“crowd, troop, band”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).