mark
/mɑɹk/noun, verb
mark is spelled M-A-R-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 112 times per million words in written English, the 951st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “marc vs mark” about 140 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, mark means “A stone or post used to indicate position and guide travellers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mark is marks.
How many letters and syllables are in mark?
| Letters | 4: M-A-R-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 112 times per million words; the 951st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is mark?
Mark appears 112 times per million words in written English, the 951st 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 mark?
- UK /mɑːk/
- US /mɑɹk/
- /mäː(ɾ)k/
Mark 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-mark.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with mark
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: marque (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: marc, march, merk.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with mark?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as mark from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹk/):
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 mark
- marks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- marking participle, present
- marked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mark mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleteA boundary; a border or frontier.
- 2
obsoleteA boundary-post or fence.
- 3
A stone or post used to indicate position and guide travellers.
- 4
The line indicating an athlete's starting-point.
- 5
archaicA type of small region or principality.
- 6
A common, or area of common land, especially among early Germanic peoples.
- 7
An omen; a symptomatic indicator of something.
- 8
A characteristic feature.
A good sense of manners is the mark of a true gentleman.
- 9
A half pound, a traditional unit of mass equivalent to 226.8 g.
- 10
Similar half-pound units in other measurement systems, chiefly used for gold and silver.
- 11
A half pound, a former English and Scottish currency equivalent to 13 shillings and fourpence and notionally equivalent to a mark of sterling silver.
- 12
Other similar currencies notionally equal to a mark of silver or gold.
- 13
A former currency of Germany and West Germany.
verb
- 1
To put a mark on (something); to make (something) recognizable by a mark; to label or write on (something).
to mark a box or bale of merchandise
- 2
To leave a mark (often an undesirable or unwanted one) on (something).
See where this pencil has marked the paper.
- 3
To have a long-lasting negative impact on (someone or something).
- 4
To create an indication of (a location).
She folded over the corner of the page to mark where she left off reading.
- 5
To be an indication of (something); to show where (something) is located.
This monument marks the spot where Wolfe died.
- 6
To indicate (something) in writing or by other symbols.
Prices are marked on individual items.
- 7
To create (a mark) on a surface.
- 8
To celebrate or acknowledge (an event) through an action of some kind.
The national holiday is marked by fireworks.
- 9
Alternative form of march.
Mark time, mark!
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of Markarian.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate mark?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of mark: Mk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mark in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | marque, signe , note , score , trace , marquer |
| German | Zeichen , Note, Zensur , markieren , kennzeichnen , begehen |
| Portuguese | marco , nota , pontuação , mancha, marca , marcar |
| Spanish | marca, venero , nota, calificación , mancha , marcar |
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 mark come from?
From Middle English mark, merk, merke, from Old English mearc (“mark, sign, line of division; standard; boundary, limit, term, border; defined area, district, province”), from Proto-West Germanic *marku, from Proto-Germanic *markō (“boundary; boundary marker”), from Proto-Indo-European *mórǵs (“edge, boundary, border”). Compare march.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).