shock
/ʃɔk/noun, adjective, verb
shock is spelled S-H-O-C-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 29 times per million words in written English, the 3,218th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shock means “A sudden, heavy impact” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shock is shocks.
How many letters and syllables are in shock?
| Letters | 5: S-H-O-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 29 times per million words; the 3,218th 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 shock?
Shock appears 29 times per million words in written English, the 3,218th 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 shock?
- UK /ʃɒk/
- US /ʃɔk/
- US /ʃɑk/
Shock 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-shock.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with shock?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as shock from its last stressed vowel (/ɔk/):
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 shock
- shocks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- shocking participle, present
- shocked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shock mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A sudden, heavy impact.
The train hit the buffers with a great shock.
- 2
Something so surprising that it is stunning.
My mother's news was a shock I still haven't recovered from.
- 3
A sudden or violent emotional disturbance.
Carl had a shock at what he found.
- 4
An experience that leaves someone shaken; a very surprising, exhilarating or amazing experience.
The surprising blast of cold water on my face was a tremendous shock.
- 5
Electric shock, a sudden burst of electrical energy hitting a person or animal.
We gave him a couple shocks, but the patient passed away anywway.
- 6
The stimulation of nerves and convulsive contraction of muscles caused by electrical current flowing through a body.
- 7
A state of distress following a mental or emotional disturbance, often caused by news or other stimuli.
Fans were in shock in the days following the singer's death.
- 8
Circulatory shock, a medical emergency characterized by the inability of the circulatory system to supply enough oxygen to meet tissue requirements.
Call an ambulance, he's in shock!
- 9
An arrangement of sheaves for drying; a stook.
- 10
datedA lot consisting of sixty pieces; a term applied in some Baltic ports to loose goods.
- 11
A tuft or bunch of something, such as hair or grass.
His head boasted a shock of sandy hair.
- 12
obsoleteA small dog with long shaggy hair, especially a poodle or spitz; a shaggy lapdog.
adjective
- 1
Causing intense surprise, horror, etc.; unexpected and shocking.
His shock announcement rocked the tennis world.
verb
- 1
To cause to be emotionally shocked; to cause (someone) to feel greatly surprised or upset.
The disaster shocked the world.
- 2
To strike with disgust, to offend, scandalize.
- 3
To give an electric shock to.
- 4
To subject to a shock wave or violent impact.
Ammonium nitrate can detonate if severely shocked.
- 5
obsoleteTo meet with a shock; to collide in a violent encounter.
- 6
To cook something very briefly in a hot liquid, then immediately submerge it in ice water to stop the cooking process.
Can you shock the spinach over there?
- 7
To add a chemical to (a swimming pool) to moderate the chlorine levels.
- 8
To deform the crystal structure of a stone by the application of extremely high pressure at moderate temperature, as produced only by hypervelocity impact events, lightning strikes, and nuclear explosions.
- 9
To collect, or make up, into a shock or shocks; to stook.
to shock rye
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shock in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | choc , choc émotionnel , choquer |
| Portuguese | choque , choque emocional , chocar , dar um choque |
| Spanish | choque , shockear, choquear , pasmo , jalonazo , shock |
| German | schockieren , einen Stromstoß versetzen , Schock , Schlag |
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 shock come from?
From Middle Dutch schokken (“to push, jolt, shake, jerk”) or Middle French choquer (“to collide with, clash”), from Old Dutch *skokkan (“to shake up and down, shog”), from Proto-Germanic *skukkaną (“to move, shake, tremble”). Of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *skakaną (“to shake, stir”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kek-, *(s)keg- (“to shake, stir”); see shake.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).