slake

/sleɪk/

//sleɪk// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"slake" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“slake” is uncommon English (frequency #94,264 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#94,264
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To satisfy (thirst, or other desires).

Corpus desk

Index EN-slake · slake · English

slake · rank #94,264 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #94,264
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH skimping

Nearest frequency peer: skimping (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “slake”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “slake” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for slake
PropertyValue
Headwordslake
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/sleɪk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#94,264
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “slake” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).slakefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “skimping” (#94,263), “Sleaford” (#94,266), “sleepily” (#94,267). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “slake” is #94,264. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

slake is uncommon English at frequency #94,264 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /sleɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 8 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for slake in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English slaken (“to render slack, to slake”), from Old English sleacian, from Old English slæc (“slack”). Unrelated to, but possibly influenced by, the Old Norse sløkkva (“to extinguish”), compare Swedish släcka in the phrase släcka sin törst (“… The correct English form is slake, spelled S-L-A-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To satisfy (thirst, or other desires).
  2. 2
    To cool (something) with water or another liquid.
  3. 3
    To become mixed with water, so that a true chemical combination takes place.
  4. 4
    To mix with water, so that a true chemical combination takes place.
  5. 5
    Of a person: to become less energetic, to slacken in one's efforts.
  6. 6
    To slacken; to become relaxed or loose.
  7. 7
    To become less intense; to weaken, decrease in force.
  8. 8
    To go out; to become extinct.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how slake appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. slake the heavenly fire
  2. It could not slake mine ire nor ease my heart.

Etymology

From Middle English slaken (“to render slack, to slake”), from Old English sleacian, from Old English slæc (“slack”). Unrelated to, but possibly influenced by, the Old Norse sløkkva (“to extinguish”), compare Swedish släcka in the phrase släcka sin törst (“quench one's thirst”), släcka elden (“put out the fire”), and släckt kalk (“slaked lime”).

This word in other languages

saciar(Español)étancher(Français)stillen(Deutsch)matar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "slake"?
"slake" is spelled S-L-A-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /sleɪk/.
What does "slake" mean?
As a verb, "slake" means: To satisfy (thirst, or other desires).
How do you pronounce "slake"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slake" is /sleɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "slake"?
From Middle English slaken (“to render slack, to slake”), from Old English sleacian, from Old English slæc (“slack”). Unrelated to, but possibly influenced by, the Old Norse sløkkva (“to extinguish”), compare Swedish släcka in the phrase släcka si... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "slake", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Saric#94,224saman#94,217Salop#94,216saiga#94,215

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list