skulk
/skʌlk/noun, verb
skulk is spelled S-K-U-L-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 107,757th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, skulk means “A group of foxes” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of skulk is skulks.
How many letters and syllables are in skulk?
| Letters | 5: S-K-U-L-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 107,757th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is skulk?
Skulk appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 107,757th 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 skulk?
- /skʌlk/
- /skʊlk/
Skulk 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-skulk.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of skulk
- skulks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- skulking participle, present
- skulked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does skulk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A group of foxes.
- 2
A group of people seen as being fox-like (e.g. cunning, dishonest, or having nefarious plans).
- 3
The act of moving in a stealthy or furtive way.
- 4
A stealthy or furtive gait or way of moving.
- 5
The act of avoiding an obligation or responsibility.
- 6
obsoleteOne who avoids an obligation or responsibility.
.
verb
- 1
To stay where one cannot be seen, conceal oneself (often in a cowardly way or with the intent of doing harm).
- 2
To move in a stealthy or furtive way; to come or go while trying to avoid detection.
- 3
To avoid an obligation or responsibility.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Skulk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to conceal oneself; to hide:
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 skulk come from?
From Middle English sculke, skulke, sculken, of North Germanic origin; compare Danish skulke (“shirk”), Swedish skolka (“play truant”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).