orc

[ awrk ]
/ ɔrk /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR orc ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of several cetaceans, as a grampus.
a mythical monster, as an ogre.

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DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
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decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Origin of orc

First recorded in 1510–20, orc is from the Latin word orca

Words nearby orc

orbitonasal, orbitonometer, orbitotomy, orbivirus, orby, orc, orca, orcadian, orcagna, orcein, orch.

Definition for orc (2 of 2)

O.R.C.

Officers' Reserve Corps.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to orc

mammal, porpoise, whopper, cetacean, grampus, baleen, finback, beluga, rorqual, narwhal, orca, ceta, cete, sei

Example sentences from the Web for orc

British Dictionary definitions for orc

orc
/ (ɔːk) /

noun

any of various whales, such as the killer and grampus
one of an imaginary race of evil goblins, esp in the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien

Word Origin for orc

C16: via Latin orca, perhaps from Greek orux whale
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012