quirk
/kwɝk/noun, verb
quirk is spelled Q-U-I-R-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, quirk means “An idiosyncrasy; a slight glitch, a mannerism; something unusual about the manner or style of something or someone” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of quirk is quirks.
How many letters and syllables are in quirk?
| Letters | 5: Q-U-I-R-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd 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 quirk?
Quirk appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd 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 quirk?
- UK /kwɜːk/
- US /kwɝk/
Quirk 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-quirk.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with quirk?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as quirk from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹk/):
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 quirk
- quirks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- quirking participle, present
- quirked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does quirk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An idiosyncrasy; a slight glitch, a mannerism; something unusual about the manner or style of something or someone.
The car steers cleanly, but the gearshift has a few quirks.
- 2
An acute angle dividing a molding; a groove that runs lengthwise between the upper part of a molding and a soffit.
- 3
archaicA quibble, evasion, or subterfuge.
verb
- 1
To (cause to) move with a wry jerk.
He quirked an eyebrow.
- 2
To furnish with a quirk or channel.
- 3
To alter in a unique and unusual way.
- 4
archaicTo use verbal tricks or quibbles.
- 5
Alternative form of querk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Quirk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense idiosyncrasy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bizarrerie, excentricité, maniérisme |
| German | Schrulle, Marotte |
| Portuguese | idiossincrasia, peculiaridade, mania |
| Spanish | idiosincrasia, manía, peculiaridad, singularidad, rareza, bizarría |
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 quirk come from?
First attested in the 1540s. Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Middle English *querk, from Old Norse kverk (“a bend or angle, especially below a cross-beam or below the chin, the bight of an axe", also "throat, gullet”), from Proto-Germanic *kwerkō (“throat, gullet”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to devour; maw”). Cognate with Scots querk (“throat", also "any hollow in the body, such as an armpit, groin, instep, etc.”), Icelandic kverk (“interior angle”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).