yoke
/joʊk/noun, verb
yoke is spelled Y-O-K-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “yoke vs yolk” about 720 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, yoke means “A bar or frame by which two oxen or other draught animals are joined at their necks enabling them to pull a cart, plough, etc.; two draught animals…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of yoke is yokes.
How many letters and syllables are in yoke?
| Letters | 4: Y-O-K-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 25,751st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is yoke?
Yoke appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st 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 yoke?
- UK /jəʊk/
- US /joʊk/
Yoke 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-au-yoke.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with yoke
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: yolk (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with yoke?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as yoke from its last stressed vowel (/oʊk/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: okey.
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 yoke
- yokes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- yoking participle, present
- yoked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does yoke mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A bar or frame by which two oxen or other draught animals are joined at their necks enabling them to pull a cart, plough, etc.; two draught animals connected by such a yoke; (by extension) a device attached to a single draught animal for the same purpose.
- 2
Any of various linking or supporting objects that resembles a yoke (sense 1.1); a crosspiece, a curved bar, etc.
- 3
A pole carried on the neck and shoulders of a person, used for carrying a pair of buckets, etc., one at each end of the pole; a carrying pole.
- 4
Any of various devices with crosspieces used to control an aircraft; specifically, the control column.
- 5
A similar device used as a game controller.
- 6
well-developed muscles of the neck and shoulders.
- 7
The part of an item of clothing which fits around the shoulders or the hips from which the rest of the garment hangs, and which is often distinguished by having a double thickness of material, or decorative flourishes.
- 8
Originally, a metal piece connecting the poles of a magnet or electromagnet; later, a part of magnetic circuit (such as in a generator or motor) not surrounded by windings (“wires wound around the cores of electrical transformers”).
verb
- 1
To join (several draught animals) together with a yoke; also, to fasten a yoke (on one or more draught animals) to pull a cart, plough, etc.; or to attach (a cart, plough, etc.) to a draught animal.
- 2
To put (one's arm or arms) around someone's neck, waist, etc.; also, to surround (someone's neck, waist, etc.) with one's arms.
- 3
To put (something) around someone's neck like a yoke; also, to surround (someone's neck) with something.
- 4
To place a collar on the neck of (a conquered person or prisoner) to restrain movement.
- 5
To place a frame on the neck of (an animal such as a cow, pig, or goose) to prevent passage through a fence or other barrier.
- 6
To bring (two or more people or things) into a close relationship (often one that is undesired); to connect, to link, to unite.
Ranchers were yoked together with farmers on the issue.
- 7
To bring into or keep (someone) in bondage or a state of submission; to enslave or subject to confine, to restrain; to oppress, to subjugate.
- 8
ScotlandarchaicTo be joined to (another person) in wedlock (often with the implication that it is a burdensome state); to be or become married to (someone).
noun
- 1
radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter Y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Yoke in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | joug , manche, manche à balai |
| German | Joch , Zug , Last, Kreuz |
| Portuguese | jugo , junta , unir, jungir |
| Spanish | yugo, ubio, toza, dentejón, jubo , uncir |
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 yoke come from?
From Middle English iuc, jok, yok, yoke, ȝok, ȝook, from Old English ġeoc, ġioc, ioc (“yoke”), from Proto-West Germanic *juk, from Proto-Germanic *juką (“yoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm (“yoke”), from *yewg- (“to join, yoke”). Doublet of yuga, jugum, yoga and possibly yogh. Senses 3.1 (“area of arable land”) and 3.2 (“amount of work done with draught animals”) probably referred to the area of land that could generally be ploughed by yoked draught animals within a given time.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).