fork
Americannoun
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forks
plural
-
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an instrument having two or more prongs or tines, for holding, lifting, etc., such as a utensil for handling food or any of various agricultural tools.
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something resembling or suggesting this in form.
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a division into branches or the point where this division occurs.
Bear left at the fork in the road.
There’s a fork in the decision-making process for these two types of problem.
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either of the branches into which a thing divides.
The right fork will also get you to our farm, but by a longer route.
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a principal tributary of a river.
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Machinery. yoke.
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Horology. (in a lever escapement) the divided end of the lever engaging with the ruby pin.
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the support of the front wheel axles of a bicycle or motorcycle, having two parallel prongs.
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the barbed head of an arrow.
verb (used with object)
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forks,
present (3rd person singular)
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forked,
past participle, past
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forking
present participle
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to pierce, raise, pitch, dig, etc., with a fork.
I forked 50 bales into the hay wagon today.
If you fork your lawn, the soil will absorb water more readily.
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to make into the form of a fork.
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Chess. to maneuver so as to place (two opponent's pieces) under simultaneous attack by the same piece.
She managed to fork my rook and queen, and I lost the rook.
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Computers. to copy the source code from (a piece of software) and develop a new version independently, resulting in two unique pieces of software.
They forked the app and added another module.
verb (used without object)
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forks,
present (3rd person singular)
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forked,
past participle, past
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forking
present participle
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to divide into branches.
Turn left where the road forks.
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to turn as indicated at a fork in a road, path, etc..
Fork left and continue to the top of the hill.
verb phrase
noun
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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
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an agricultural tool consisting of a handle and three or four metal prongs, used for lifting, digging, etc
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a pronged part of any machine, device, etc
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a division into two or more branches
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the point where the division begins
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such a branch
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the main tributary of a river
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chess a position in which two pieces are forked
verb
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(tr) to pick up, dig, etc, with a fork
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(tr) chess to place (two enemy pieces) under attack with one of one's own pieces, esp a knight
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(tr) to make into the shape of a fork
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(intr) to be divided into two or more branches
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to take one or other branch at a fork in a road, river, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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forksimple
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forkssimple
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have forkedperfect
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has forkedperfect
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am forkingprogressive
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are forkingprogressive
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is forkingprogressive
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have been forkingperfect progressive
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has been forkingperfect progressive
Past
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forkedsimple
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had forkedperfect
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was forkingprogressive
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were forkingprogressive
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had been forkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fork
First recorded before 1000; Middle English forke, Old English forca, from Latin furca fork, gallows, yoke
Explanation
An eating utensil with several points or prongs is called a fork. If you aren't skilled at using chopsticks, you can ask the waiter at the Chinese restaurant to bring you a fork. In most Western households, forks are a basic part of a table setting — unless all you're eating is soup. There are different forks for different purposes, from a long, narrow fondue fork to a large, wide serving fork. There are also garden tools called forks, including pitchforks and hand-held pronged digging implements. Yet another kind of fork is the place where two roads or branches meet in a V shape. If you come to a fork in the road, you better know which direction to take.
Vocabulary lists containing fork
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.
See Examples For:
A buyer considering that $400,000 house will also need to fork out over $8,600 in closing costs, according to an estimate from Zillow.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026
It is that asymmetry that’s always a fork in our eye.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2026
"Hardworking people shouldn't have to fork out for a subscription to watch this match," he wrote on X.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Praying for a rain delay, I found myself innings deep into “Team Moms: Baseball” before realizing that, like Bryce Harper looking at a ghost fork, I’d fallen victim to my own myopia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
When I just raised an eyebrow at him, he huffed and put his fork down.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Because we are turning 70 and have license to let loose, we order a single dessert with six forks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The researchers found that excess EXO1 destabilizes newly formed DNA through two main mechanisms, expanding single-stranded DNA gaps and degrading reversed replication forks.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026
After all, forks were a relatively late invention, and not always welcome.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025
Over a dinner of “Mac’s Famous Mac and Cheese,” a gloopy, highlighter-yellow bowl of boxed pasta, they raise their forks in agreement: suburbia will be a breeze.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2025
He forks a bit of peas and mashed potatoes into his mouth.
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
By flicking their forked tongues, they collect chemical signals from the air that help them locate potential prey.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
The vast sums being forked out to pay for the tickets alone and criticism of Fifa's dynamic pricing strategy, which raises prices when demand is high, have been well-documented.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
At least a dozen people forked over approximately $190,000 to Bloom in 2021, the Los Angeles Police Department previously told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
He noted that the company presumably is doing well if executives forked over more than $14 billion to buy “49% of something they sold under duress.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast,” she said, punctuating each word with her forked peach.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
But instead of forking over $30 for the piece of plastic, he spent a few cents on filament and cranked out a custom solution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The donors who’ve been forking it over are questioning whether Cornyn has plateaued.
From Slate ● Mar. 2, 2026
The only potential glitch in his 24-hour trip was that he had to avoid forking out for a hotel, which could have added an extra £400 to his bill.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
Mizuho analyst David Bellinger is saying it again: Walmart can win by using AI—without forking out billions itself to develop those tools.
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
Our best hope, I thought, was to lose them in this forking maze of tunnels.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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