pink
/ˈpɪŋk/noun, adjective, verb
pink is spelled P-I-N-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 33 times per million words in written English, the 2,888th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pink means “A color reminiscent of pinks, the flowers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pink is pinks.
How many letters and syllables are in pink?
| Letters | 4: P-I-N-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 33 times per million words; the 2,888th 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; 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 pink?
Pink appears 33 times per million words in written English, the 2,888th 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 pink?
- US /ˈpɪŋk/
- US [ˈpʰɪŋk]
- /ˈpiŋk/
Pink has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-pink.ogg, En-au-Pink.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pink?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pink from its last stressed vowel (/ɪŋk/):
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 pink
- pinks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pinker comparative
- pinkest superlative
- pinking participle, present
- pinked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pink mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A color reminiscent of pinks, the flowers.
My new dress is a wonderful shade of pink.
- 2
Magenta, the colour evoked by red and blue light when combined.
- 3
Pale red.
- 4
Any of various flowers of that colour in the genus Dianthus, sometimes called carnations.
This garden in particular has a beautiful bed of pinks.
- 5
datedA perfect example; excellence, perfection; the embodiment of some quality.
Your hat, madam, is the very pink of fashion.
- 6
Hunting pink; scarlet, as worn by hunters.
- 7
A huntsman.
- 8
One of the colour balls used in snooker, coloured pink, with a value of 6 points.
Oh dear, he's left himself snookered behind the pink.
- 9
A common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus0.
- 10
A young Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, before it becomes a smolt; a parr.
- 11
Any of various lake pigments or dyes in yellow, yellowish green or brown shades, made with plant coloring and a metallic oxide base.
- 12
obsoleteA narrow boat.
- 13
obsoleteA small hole or puncture made by a sharp, slender instrument such as a rapier, poniard or dagger, or (by extension) a bullet; a stab.
At a great word she will her poynard draw, Looke for the pincke if once thou giue the lye.
- 14
obsoleteA small hole or eyelet punched in a garment for decoration, as with a pinking iron; a scallop.
You had rather have / An ulcer in your body than a pink / More in your clothes.
adjective
- 1
Having a colour between red and white; pale red.
- 2
Of a fox-hunter's jacket: scarlet.
- 3
Having conjunctivitis.
- 4
By comparison to red (communist), supportive of socialist ideas but not actually socialist or communist.
- 5
informalRelating to women or girls.
pink-collar
- 6
informalRelating to homosexuals as a group within society.
the pink economy
- 7
obsoleteHalf-shut; winking.
verb
- 1
To become pink in color, to redden.
- 2
To turn (something) pink.
- 3
To turn (a topaz or other gemstone) pink by the application of heat.
- 4
To decorate a piece of clothing or fabric by adding holes or by scalloping the fringe.
- 5
To prick with a sword.
- 6
To wound by irony, criticism, or ridicule.
- 7
Of a motor car, to emit a high "pinking" noise, usually as a result of ill-set ignition timing for the fuel used (in a spark ignition engine).
- 8
Of a musical instrument, to sound a very high-pitched, short note.
- 9
obsoleteTo wink; to blink.
noun
- 1
datedderogatoryslangAn operative of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate pink?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of pink: PNK.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pink in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rose , œillet , pétiller |
| German | Rosa , Nelke , pink, rosa |
| Portuguese | cor-de-rosa, rosa , cravo, cravina , rosado, róseo |
| Spanish | rosado, rosa , clavel , sonrosado, rosáceo, róseo |
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 pink come from?
Origin uncertain; perhaps from Dutch pinken (“to blink”) or the English verb pink from the same source. Perhaps from the notion of the petals being pinked. An earlier word for similar flesh-like colors, mostly displaced by pink, was incarnation ([1300s]; see Etymonline) and carnation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).