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erk

American  
[urk] / ɜrk /

noun

British Slang.
  1. an aircraftsman of the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force.

  2. a worthless, stupid person; jerk.


erk British  
/ ɜːk /

noun

  1. slang an aircraftman or naval rating

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of erk

First recorded in 1920–25; earlier naval slang for any noncommissioned rank; of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Indeed, a core finding of the Science papers was that activation of the ERK protein alone is the key driver of resistance to drugs that inhibit KRAS.

From Science Daily • Jun. 6, 2024

When the team combined DRP-104 with an existing drug that blocks the ERK signaling pathway, trametinib, it further improved survival in pancreatic cancer mouse models compared to DRP-104 treatment alone.

From Science Daily • Oct. 9, 2023

Figure 9.14 ERK is a MAP kinase that activates translation when it is phosphorylated.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

An example of a protein that regulates translation in the nucleus is the MAP kinase ERK.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Flipped out: structure-guided design of selective pyrazolylpyrrole ERK inhibitors.

From Nature • Apr. 22, 2018

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