fork

American  

[fawrk] / fɔrk /

noun

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)

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)

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

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

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

Characters drift about downtown fundraisers, Italian villas and second homes on the North Fork.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Mingo County is considering two more off-grid plants branded as the “Adams Fork Data Center Energy Campus.”

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2025

Jared Champlin, chief executive of private Haynesville driller Roaring Fork Energy, said his company is in no rush to accelerate production.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025

He was last seen at the top of the waterfalls on Sunday evening, near the North Fork of the Kern River.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2025

I was all of ten years old and it was one of the finest growing seasons Bent Fork had ever seen.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney