fork
an instrument having two or more prongs or tines, for holding, lifting, etc., as an implement for handling food or any of various agricultural tools.
something resembling or suggesting this in form.
Machinery. yoke1 (def. 9).
a division into branches.
the point or part at which a thing, as a river or a road, divides into branches: Bear left at the fork in the road.
either of the branches into which a thing divides.
Horology. (in a lever escapement) the forked end of the lever engaging with the ruby pin.
a principal tributary of a river.
the support of the front wheel axles of a bicycle or motorcycle, having the shape of a two-pronged fork.
the barbed head of an arrow.
to pierce, raise, pitch, dig, etc., with a fork.
to make into the form of a fork.
Chess. to maneuver so as to place (two opponent's pieces) under simultaneous attack by the same piece.
Digital Technology to copy (the source code) from a piece of software and develop a new version independently, with the result of producing two unique pieces of software.
to divide into branches:Turn left where the road forks.
to turn as indicated at a fork in a road, path, etc.: Fork left and continue to the top of the hill.
fork over / out / up Informal. to hand over; deliver; pay: Fork over the money you owe me!
Origin of fork
1Other words from fork
- forkless, adjective
- forklike, adjective
- un·fork, verb (used with object)
Words Nearby fork
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use fork in a sentence
Mash the feta and tomatoes with a fork and mix until evenly combined.
TikTok’s viral baked feta pasta is worth the hype | Aaron Hutcherson | February 11, 2021 | Washington PostThat fork may not be worth $100 unless you have an emotional connection to it.
Replacing pieces of flatware or china can be a challenge. Here’s how to track them down. | Laura Daily | February 11, 2021 | Washington PostWith them, he could use a fork and a knife at the same time to feed himself.
New technology can get inside your head. Are you ready? | Laura Sanders | February 11, 2021 | Science News For StudentsYou need access to your arms to eat, and a blanket will either slide off your back or down into your lap when you reach for a fork.
Right now, we’re sitting with a plate of tangled spaghetti — worrisome political trends that knot together in ways that almost ensure if you’re slurping up one of them, you’ll end up with another on the end of your fork.
Our Radicalized Republic | Maggie Koerth (maggie.koerth-baker@fivethirtyeight.com) | January 25, 2021 | FiveThirtyEight
For an article in the Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology, the author must fork over $650 for “handling.”
In pot with boiling water, cook potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
Epic Meal Empire’s Meat Monstrosities: From the Bacon Spider to the Cinnabattleship | Harley Morenstein | July 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is messy enough to be fork-food for all but the most dexterous eater.
Brienne demands the deformed, less savage Clegane brother fork her over, but he refuses, hell-bent on receiving his bounty.
Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie on Brienne of Tarth’s Epic S4 Finale Showdown with The Hound | Marlow Stern | June 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOther times, if you take me out to a good restaurant, I can eat with a fork and keep my elbows off the table.
Anthony Bourdain Will ‘Try Anything Once’—but He Isn’t Calling in Sick | Lloyd Grove | April 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPearson flung his knife and fork at it, having forgotten to drop those light weapons when he leaped up.
Hunting the Lions | R.M. BallantyneShe had forced herself to eat most of her soup, and now she was picking the flaky bits of a court bouillon with her fork.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinGilbert made a great clatter with his knife and fork, to conceal the laugh that he could not repress.
The World Before Them | Susanna MoodieAmong others, an Abb thrice lifted his fork to his mouth, and thrice laid it down, with an eager stare of surprise.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousThe coals for the smiths I have also ordered, and the same for the engine to fork the first lift.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis Trevithick
British Dictionary definitions for fork
/ (fɔːk) /
a small usually metal implement consisting of two, three, or four long thin prongs on the end of a handle, used for lifting food to the mouth or turning it in cooking, etc
an agricultural tool consisting of a handle and three or four metal prongs, used for lifting, digging, etc
a pronged part of any machine, device, etc
(of a road, river, etc)
a division into two or more branches
the point where the division begins
such a branch
mainly US the main tributary of a river
chess a position in which two pieces are forked
(tr) to pick up, dig, etc, with a fork
(tr) chess to place (two enemy pieces) under attack with one of one's own pieces, esp a knight
(tr) to make into the shape of a fork
(intr) to be divided into two or more branches
to take one or other branch at a fork in a road, river, etc
Origin of fork
1Derived forms of fork
- forkful, noun
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
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