calk

[ kawk ]

/ kɔk /

Save This Word!

noun

Also calkin. a projection on a horseshoe to prevent slipping on ice, pavement, etc.

Also calker. a similar device on the heel or sole of a shoe to prevent slipping.

verb (used with object)

to provide with calks.

to injure with a calk.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of calk

1580–90; perhaps a back formation from calkin, taken as a verb calk + -in present participle suffix (Middle English -inde), confused with -ing²

Words nearby calk

calix, Calixtine, Calixtus I, Calixtus II, Calixtus III, calk, calker, calkin, call, calla, callable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use calk in a sentence

Yes, I always chunk well and calk good with moss before I mud it, then you have a good warm camp.
Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper|Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock
They make honey from this tree; also oakum with which to calk ships, which lasts in the water, when that from here would rot.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898|Emma Helen Blair
There can be grouped in the class of infectious affections such conditions as nail pricks, calk wounds and canker.
Lameness of the Horse|John Victor Lacroix
In some instances, the pastern joint is opened by calk wounds and then, of course, an infectious arthritis succeeds the injury.
Lameness of the Horse|John Victor Lacroix

If so, make them tight with batten strips or, if very loose, calk them with oakum.
If You're Going to Live in the Country|Thomas H. Ormsbee and Richmond Huntley

British Dictionary definitions for calk (1 of 3)

calk¹

/ (kɔːk) /

verb

a variant spelling of caulk

British Dictionary definitions for calk (2 of 3)

calk²

calkin (ˈkɔːkɪn, ˈkæl-)

/ (kɔːk) /

noun

a metal projection on a horse's shoe to prevent slipping

mainly US and Canadian a set of spikes or a spiked plate attached to the sole of a boot, esp by loggers, to prevent slipping

verb (tr)

to provide with calks

to wound with a calk

Word Origin for calk

C17: from Latin calx heel

British Dictionary definitions for calk (3 of 3)

calk³

/ (kɔːk) /

verb

(tr) to transfer (a design) by tracing it with a blunt point from one sheet backed with loosely fixed colouring matter onto another placed underneath

Word Origin for calk

C17: from French calquer to trace; see calque

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