irk
Americanverb (used with object)
-
irks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
irked,
past participle, past
-
irking
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
irksimple
-
irkssimple
-
have irkedperfect
-
has irkedperfect
-
am irkingprogressive
-
are irkingprogressive
-
is irkingprogressive
-
have been irkingperfect progressive
-
has been irkingperfect progressive
Past
-
irkedsimple
-
had irkedperfect
-
was irkingprogressive
-
were irkingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Touching Spirit Bear
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
It is a rhetoric likely to irk bondholders.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
Consider what Brunson said recently in response to being asked to share the basketball more, the sort of glory-curbing request that can irk an NBA star.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Mr Peirson is concerned that the nature of the Ministry of Defence building deal may irk businesses which have already committed to Serbia.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2025
As the days wore on, stray comments started to irk him.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025
Molly knows she should ignore these comments—“water off a duck’s back,” Ralph says—but they irk her.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
He describes a kind of grief and irritation as Diana becomes public property and then royal property, which irks him even more, disliking the "nonsense of fawning" around the monarchy.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Inflation measures how much prices have risen over a year, but what irks many people is how much higher prices are than they were before the pandemic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Mark Joseph Stern: This is what irks me the most about Roberts’ opinion in Slaughter.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
What irks me is how one-note the character writing is, and how the movie’s youthful, seemingly forward-thinking perspective allows Barker to get away with reducing Nikki to nothing.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
It irks me when I am by my lone.”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Santana eventually got Caballero to ground into a double play, but the stall tactics irked him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
It was the removal of wartime leader Churchill that particularly irked politicians earlier this year.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
Hegseth was also reportedly irked by Phelan communicating directly on the matter with Trump, which Hegseth took to be a slight.
From Salon ● May 1, 2026
The company’s decision to halt share repurchases in the fourth quarter likely also irked investors.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026
These words irked the watchman, who then decided to search the case with a fine-toothed comb.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Moffett said that, in the old days, television channels didn’t have to worry about irking customers with rising costs, because that relationship was handled by a middleman — the cable companies.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
He met his wife, Rebecca, at a wedding in 1992 that he attended as a friend’s plus one, irking her by interrupting her conversation with the bride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
The head of German auto industry group VDA decried the EU parliament's decision, saying it sent a "devastating sign" and risked irking Mercosur countries.
From Barron's ● Jan. 21, 2026
Green Day rang in the new year by irking the richest man in the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2024
Not two hours altogether of such intercourse had been his, but it had been enough to infuse all his consciousness with a vague but irking discontent.
From The Destroying Angel by Louis Joseph Vance
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.
