meek
/mik/adjective, verb
meek is spelled M-E-E-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, meek means “Humble, non-boastful, modest, meager, or self-effacing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in meek?
| Letters | 4: M-E-E-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 19,077th 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 meek?
Meek appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th 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 meek?
- UK /miːk/
- US /mik/
Meek 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-meek.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with meek?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as meek from its last stressed vowel (/ik/):
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 meek
- meeker comparative
- meekest superlative
- meeks present, singular, he/she/it
- meeking participle, present
- meeked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does meek mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Humble, non-boastful, modest, meager, or self-effacing.
- 2
Submissive, dispirited, cowed.
verb
- 1
USTo tame; to break (a horse)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Meek in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | humble, modeste , soumis, faible |
| German | sanftmütig, bescheiden, zaghaft, zurückhaltend, fromm, demütig |
| Portuguese | modesto , submisso, manso |
| Spanish | modesto , humilde, resignado, sumiso, manso |
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 meek come from?
From Middle English meek, meke, meoc, probably a borrowing from Old Norse mjúkr (“soft; meek”), from Proto-Germanic *meukaz, *mūkaz (“soft; supple”), from Proto-Indo-European *mewg-, *mewk- (“slick, slippery; to slip”); compare Old English smēag (“subtle, stealthy, etc.”) and smūgan.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).