irk
/ɝk/verb, noun
irk is spelled I-R-K: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,838th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, irk means “to irritate; annoy; bother” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in irk?
| Letters | 3: I-R-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,838th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| 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 irk?
Irk appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,838th 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 irk?
- UK /ɜːk/
- US /ɝk/
Irk 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-irk.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with irk?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as irk from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹk/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: kir.
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 irk
- irks present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- irking participle, present
- irked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does irk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
to irritate; annoy; bother
It irks me doing all this work and have someone wreck it.
noun
- 1
An annoyance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Irk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to irritate; annoy; bother:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | agacer, irriter |
| German | ärgern |
| Portuguese | aborrecer |
| Spanish | fastidiar, molestar, irritar |
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 irk come from?
Inherited from Middle English irken (“to tire, grow weary”), from Old Norse yrkja (“to work”), from Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną (“to work”), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- (“to work”). Cognate with Icelandic yrkja (“to compose”), Swedish yrka (“to urge, argue”), Old English wyrċan (“to work”). Doublet of work.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).