walk
/wɔːk/verb, noun
walk is spelled W-A-L-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 120 times per million words in written English, the 873rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, walk means “To move on the feet by alternately setting each foot (or pair or group of feet, in the case of animals with four or more feet) forward, with at least…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in walk?
| Letters | 4: W-A-L-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 120 times per million words; the 873rd 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 walk?
Walk appears 120 times per million words in written English, the 873rd 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 walk?
- UK /wɔːk/
- British /woːk/
- /waːk/
Walk 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-uk-walk.ogg, En-us-walk.ogg, En-au-walk.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with walk?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as walk from its last stressed vowel (/ɔk/, British pronunciation):
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 walk
- walks present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- walking participle, present
- walked participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does walk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To move on the feet by alternately setting each foot (or pair or group of feet, in the case of animals with four or more feet) forward, with at least one foot on the ground at all times. Compare run.
To walk briskly for an hour every day is to keep fit.
- 2
colloquialTo "walk free", i.e. to win, or avoid, a criminal court case, particularly when actually guilty.
If you can’t present a better case, that robber is going to walk.
- 3
colloquialOf an object, to go missing or be stolen.
If you leave your wallet lying around, it’s going to walk.
- 4
To walk off the field, as if given out, after the fielding side appeals and before the umpire has ruled; done as a matter of sportsmanship when the batsman believes he is out.
- 5
To travel (a distance) by walking.
I walk two miles to school every day.
- 6
To take for a walk or accompany on a walk.
I walk the dog every morning.
- 7
To appear in a parade.
Those who wish to walk in the parade this fall should sign up now.
- 8
To allow a batter to reach base by pitching four balls.
noun
- 1
A trip made by walking.
I take a walk every morning.
- 2
A distance walked.
It’s a long walk from my house to the library.
- 3
An Olympic Games track event requiring that the heel of the leading foot touch the ground before the toe of the trailing foot leaves the ground.
- 4
A manner of walking; a person's style of walking.
The Ministry of Silly Walks is underfunded this year.
- 5
A path, sidewalk/pavement or other maintained place on which to walk.
- 6
A person's conduct or course in life.
people of different ages and walks
- 7
A situation where all players fold to the big blind, as their first action (instead of calling or raising), once they get their cards.
- 8
An award of first base to a batter following four balls being thrown by the pitcher; known in the rules as a "base on balls".
The pitcher now has two walks in this inning alone.
noun
- 1
A particular histidine kinase
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Walk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | marcher, se promener , ficher le camp , s'envoler, se barrer , promenade |
| German | gehen, laufe , freigelassen werden, freikommen , wegkommen , laufen |
| Portuguese | andar, caminhar , estar robado , caminhada , passear , andadura |
| Spanish | caminar, andar , estar robado , paseo, caminata , pasear |
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 walk come from?
From Middle English walk, walke, walken, walkyn, wolken (“to roll, toss, or turn; to walk; to move; to be living; to beat or full; to perform”), a conflation of Old English wealcan (“to move around; to revolve; to roll; to fluctuate; to discuss”) (ġewealcan (“to go, traverse; to roll”)) and Old English wealcian (“to curl, roll up, twist; to wrinkle”); both from Proto-West Germanic *walkan, from Proto-Germanic *walkaną (“to roll, toss, turn, wind; to walk, wander, wend; to full, trample”), *walkōną (“to roll about; to full”), from Proto-Indo-European *walg- (“to twist, turn, move”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).