lark
/lɑɹk/noun, verb
lark is spelled L-A-R-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Lark, the name). As a noun, lark means “Any of various small, singing passerine birds of the family Alaudidae” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lark is larks.
How many letters and syllables are in lark?
| Letters | 4: L-A-R-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 24,170th 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 lark?
Lark appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Lark, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lark?
- UK /lɑːk/
- US /lɑɹk/
Lark 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lakh.wav, En-us-lark.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lark?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lark from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹk/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: karl.
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 lark
- larks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- laverock
- lavrock
- larking participle, present
- larked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lark mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various small, singing passerine birds of the family Alaudidae.
- 2
Any of various similar-appearing birds, but usually ground-living, such as the meadowlark and titlark.
- 3
One who wakes early; one who is up with the larks.
- 4
A jolly or peppy person.
- 5
A frolic or romp, some fun.
- 6
A prank.
verb
- 1
To catch larks (a type of bird).
to go larking
- 2
To sport, engage in harmless pranking.
- 3
To frolic, engage in carefree adventure.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lark in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | alaudidé , lève-tôt |
| German | Lerche , Frühaufsteher , Spaß , Streich |
| Portuguese | cotovia |
| Spanish | alondra , madrugador , diversión , travesura |
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 lark come from?
From Middle English larke, laverke, from Old English lāwerce, lǣwerce, lāuricæ, from Proto-West Germanic *laiwaʀikā, from Proto-Germanic *laiwazikǭ (compare dialectal West Frisian larts, Dutch leeuwerik, German Lerche), from *laiwaz (borrowed into Finnish leivo, Estonian lõo), of unknown ultimate origin with no definitive cognates outside of Germanic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).