rook
/ɹʊk/noun, verb
rook is spelled R-O-O-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rook means “A European bird, Corvus frugilegus, of the crow family” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rook is rooks.
How many letters and syllables are in rook?
| Letters | 4: R-O-O-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th 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 rook?
Rook appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th 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 rook?
- US /ɹʊk/
- British /ɹɵk/
- /ɹuːk/
Rook 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-rook.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rook?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rook from its last stressed vowel (/ʊk/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: koro, roko.
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 rook
- rooks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- rooking participle, present
- rooked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rook mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A European bird, Corvus frugilegus, of the crow family.
- 2
A cheat or swindler; someone who betrays.
So I am (like an old rook, who is ruined by gaming) forced to live on the good fortune of the pushing young men, whose fancies are so vigorous that they ensure their success in their adventures with Muses, by their strength and imagination.
- 3
A bad deal; a rip-off.
- 4
UKA type of firecracker used by farmers to scare birds of the same name.
- 5
A trick-taking game, usually played with a specialized deck of cards.
- 6
archaicslangA parson.
- 7
A piece shaped like a castle tower, that can be moved only up, down, left or right (but not diagonally) or in castling.
- 8
rareA castle or other fortification.
- 9
slangA rookie.
- 10
mist; fog; roke
verb
- 1
To cheat or swindle.
- 2
obsoleteTo squat; to ruck.
- 3
Pronunciation spelling of look, mimicking Asian speech.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate rook?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of rook: R.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rook in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | corbeau freux, freux , rouler , tour |
| German | Saatkrähe , Schwindler, Schwindlerin, Betrüger, Betrügerin, Gauner |
| Portuguese | gralha-calva, frouva, cornelha , enganar , torre , fortificação |
| Spanish | graja, grajo , torre, roque , baluarte, bastión |
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.