orc

[ awrk ]

/ ɔrk /

Save This Word!

noun

any of several cetaceans, as a grampus.

a mythical monster, as an ogre.

COMPARE MEANINGS

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of orc

First recorded in 1520–30; partly from Middle French orque, a kind of whale, partly from Italian orca “large whale, fabulous sea monster,” partly from Latin orca, a kind of whale; see origin at orca; see also Orcus, ogre

Words nearby orc

Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, Orbiting Geophysical Observatory, Orbiting Solar Observatory, orb weaver, orby, orc, orca, Orcadian, Orcagna, orcein, orch.

Other definitions for orc (2 of 2)

O.R.C.

abbreviation

Officers' Reserve Corps.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use orc in a sentence

But there will be a little bit of Orc killing to be seen in the extended cut.
‘No Regrets’: Peter Jackson Says Goodbye to Middle-Earth|Alex Suskind|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There are a few Orc killings that we actually got knocked back.
‘No Regrets’: Peter Jackson Says Goodbye to Middle-Earth|Alex Suskind|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One-third of Americans now say that President Obama should be impeached, according to a CNN/ORC poll.
The Absurd Impeachment Feedback Loop|John Avlon|July 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Riding a warg, the Pale Orc watches as the company awaits their free-fall into death.
‘The Hobbit’: 19 Changes from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Novel to Peter Jackson’s Movie|Anna Klassen|December 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The CNN/ORC instant poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Instant Polls: Romney Wins the Debate|Matthew DeLuca|October 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But with the dawn of that morning Orc descended in fire, “and in the vineyards of red France appeared the light of his fury.”
William Blake|Algernon Charles Swinburne
Last she calls upon Orc; “Smile, son of my afflictions; arise and give our mountains joy of thy red light.”
William Blake|Algernon Charles Swinburne
Of these two divinities, called in the mythology Los and Enitharmon, is born the man-child Orc.
William Blake|Algernon Charles Swinburne
Los embraces her, and she begets a child in her own image—a Human Shadow, who is named Orc (passion).
William Blake|Charles Gardner
One merely gathers, that Orc releases himself in order to marry the shadowy daughter of Urthona,—Ah!
William Blake|Irene Langridge

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