swank
/ˈsweɪ̯ŋk/adjective, noun, verb
swank is spelled S-W-A-N-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, swank means “Fashionably elegant, posh” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in swank?
| Letters | 5: S-W-A-N-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd 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; 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 swank?
Swank appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd 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 swank?
- /ˈswæŋk/
- [ˈswæŋk]
- US /ˈsweɪ̯ŋk/
Swank has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-swank.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with swank?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as swank from its last stressed vowel (/eɪŋk/):
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 swank
- swanker comparative
- swankest superlative
- swanks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- swanking participle, present
- swanked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does swank mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Fashionably elegant, posh.
noun
- 1
A fashionably elegant person.
- 2
Ostentation; bravado.
verb
- 1
To swagger, to show off.
Looks like she's going to swank in, flashing her diamonds, then swank out to another party.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does swank come from?
From dialectal swank (“to strut, behave ostentatiously”), perhaps from an unrecorded Old English root, derived from Proto-Germanic *swankijaną (“to cause to sway, swing”) or from Proto-Germanic *swankaz (“lithe, bendsome, slender”), related to the Scots swank and the Middle High German swanken, modern German schwanken (“to sway”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).