irk
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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irksimple
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irkssimple
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have irkedperfect
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has irkedperfect
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am irkingprogressive
-
are irkingprogressive
-
is irkingprogressive
-
have been irkingperfect progressive
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has been irkingperfect progressive
Past
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irkedsimple
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had irkedperfect
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was irkingprogressive
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were irkingprogressive
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had been irkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of irk
1300–50; Middle English irken to grow tired, tire < Old Norse yrkja to work, cognate with Old English wyrcan; see work
Explanation
The verb irk means "annoy," so if the incessant barking of your next door neighbor's pug is driving you crazy, you can say that the noise irks you. Being irked is an individual thing — what drives you crazy might be something your friend doesn't even notice. For example, it might irk your grammarian friend every time he hears someone says "ain't," but other people don't mind it. The earliest version of the word irk, irken, meant "to feel weary or tired," but it later came to mean "to tire of or to be disgusted with."
Vocabulary lists containing irk
English Words Derived from Old Norse
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Touching Spirit Bear
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Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 3
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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.
Freelance video games journalist Vic Hood said the price tag for the standard edition was "fairly reasonable" but said the lack of disc may "irk some physical collectors".
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026
It is a rhetoric likely to irk bondholders.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
These interventions can irk the grassroots, and there will be some carping over the Daines move.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
As the days wore on, stray comments started to irk him.
From Salon • Jan. 7, 2025
Sahil shifted beside me, probably not used to being so close to Hannah’s irk.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
