fork

American  

[fawrk] / fɔrk /

noun

• forks
  plural

1. 1. 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.

   2. something resembling or suggesting this in form.

2. 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.

3. either of the branches into which a thing divides.

   The right fork will also get you to our farm, but by a longer route.

4. a principal tributary of a river.

5. tuning fork.

6. Machinery. yoke.

7. Horology. (in a lever escapement) the divided end of the lever engaging with the ruby pin.

8. the support of the front wheel axles of a bicycle or motorcycle, having two parallel prongs.

9. the barbed head of an arrow.

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verb (used with object)

• forks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forked,
  past participle,  past
• forking
  present participle

1. 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.

2. to make into the form of a fork.

3. 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.

4. 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)

• forks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forked,
  past participle,  past
• forking
  present participle

1. to divide into branches.

   Turn left where the road forks.

2. to turn as indicated at a fork in a road, path, etc..

   Fork left and continue to the top of the hill.

verb phrase

1. fork over / out / up to hand over; deliver; pay.

   Fork over the money you owe me!

fork British  

/ fɔːk /

noun

1. 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

2. an agricultural tool consisting of a handle and three or four metal prongs, used for lifting, digging, etc

3. a pronged part of any machine, device, etc

4. 1. a division into two or more branches

   2. the point where the division begins

   3. such a branch

5. the main tributary of a river

6. chess a position in which two pieces are forked

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verb

1. (tr) to pick up, dig, etc, with a fork

2. (tr) chess to place (two enemy pieces) under attack with one of one's own pieces, esp a knight

3. (tr) to make into the shape of a fork

4. (intr) to be divided into two or more branches

5. to take one or other branch at a fork in a road, river, etc

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• forkful
  noun
• unfork
  verb (used with object)
• forkless
  adjective
• forklike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• forks
  plural

Participles

• forking
  present
• forked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fork
  simple
• forks
  simple
• have forked
  perfect
• has forked
  perfect
• am forking
  progressive
• are forking
  progressive
• is forking
  progressive
• have been forking
  perfect progressive
• has been forking
  perfect progressive

Past

• forked
  simple
• had forked
  perfect
• was forking
  progressive
• were forking
  progressive
• had been forking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fork
  simple
• will have forked
  perfect
• will be forking
  progressive
• will have been forking
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fork forks forked forking

If a normal-sized tuning fork had the same relative ability to sustain vibrations, it would continue ringing for several hours.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

If Shein hadn’t sold shares by the end of the year, the company would have been required to fork out nearly $4.4 billion in cash to holders of its convertible redeemable preferred shares.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

She said the swap event helped families from having to "fork out" on uniforms.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Then, a streaming platform might fork over $5 million to $20 million for exclusive taped performance rights.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Jake used his right hand to feel along the cold stone wall and lead his friends to the fork in the path.

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

Nic Lambert forks out for school trips, food, clothes and "everything else in between".

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

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

First he moved the hopeless cases — frames dented, forks bent, gears rusted — into one room and their cousins the wheelchairs into another, leaving about 90 that could be saved.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

There are other roadblocks and/or forks in the road people face in retirement, including a gradual decline in health, which could lead to the need to live in an assisted-living facility.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 24, 2026

At dinner, which begins promptly at midnight, each course is styled in black or white but bursts with color once pierced with forks or spoons, revealing layer upon layer of flavors.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

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 head of FIFA, NFL owners and the PGA also forked over tickets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 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

The reported £4m forked out for Oliver Antman and the £3.5m spent on Thelo Aasgaard does not look like smart business so far either.

From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2025

I half expected him to lick his lips with a forked tongue.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

The chapters in “Wishbone” alternate between these characters, exploring the forking paths a life can take.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

No. Endlessly forking over subscription dollars for app content seems like too much.

From Slate ● May 10, 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

When you’re paying for a big event like this and forking out $30,000, you do have a right to have input into how elaborate an affair it should be.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2025

Her father was out in the barn, forking hay to the mule, taking care of the chickens for her, and milking the cow.

From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper