perk
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to become lively, cheerful, or vigorous, as after depression or sickness (usually followed byup ).
The patients all perked up when we played the piano for them.
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to act, or carry oneself, in a jaunty manner.
-
to put oneself forward briskly or presumptuously.
verb (used with object)
-
to make smart, trim, or jaunty (sometimes followed by up orout ).
to perk up a suit with a new white blouse.
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to raise smartly or briskly (often followed by up orout ).
to perk one's head up.
adjective
verb (used with or without object)
noun
-
perks
plural
adjective
verb
verb
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(intr) (of coffee) to percolate
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(tr) to percolate (coffee)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of perk1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English perken “(of a bird) to perch on a tree”; akin to perch 1
Origin of perk2
An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; by shortening and respelling
Origin of perk3
First recorded in 1865–70; by shortening and respelling
Explanation
A perk is something extra you get, in addition to a salary, in exchange for working. The major perk of your job at an ice cream shop might be all the hot fudge sundaes you can eat. Some fairly common job perks include health insurance, free gym memberships, and company cars. You can also talk about the perks, or benefits, of a situation: "I have to ride to school with my annoying neighbor, but the perk is she always brings donuts." As a verb, perk means "to become more energetic or cheerful." So that donut perk? It might be just the thing to perk you up on a Monday morning.
Vocabulary lists containing perk
"Where I'm From"
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Selection Vocabulary 3, Unit 5
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poems about voices of modern culture
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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.
See Examples For:
Most workers ignore one retirement-account perk that can save them thousands of dollars in federal taxes.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Your workplace may offer a perk where they contract with a provider for a certain amount of advice for employees — but even if that’s free for you, the adviser is still getting paid.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
It’s a nice perk when rounding out a $200-million facility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
It added that going home early is called an "early shove" in the aviation industry and is considered an informal perk for staff, sometimes offered after especially taxing shifts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
These days flying was as comfortable as sitting in one’s own living room, with the added perk of live entertainment.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
One of the perks of “Winning Works” is that the choreographers are given access not only to the Joffrey’s people and spaces, but also its resources.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The campaigns come one year after protests over lavish perks for lawmakers spiralled into general anti-government anger -- Indonesia's biggest unrest since President Prabowo Subianto took office in 2024.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
You might not even have to pay for them given certain credit-card perks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Even households with the money to buy are considering renting’s perks.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
“It’s one of the perks of being a Mirror Tech employee; we keep all those kinds of records for everyone.”
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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.
