skylark

American  

[skahy-lahrk] / ˈskaɪˌlɑrk /

noun

1. a brown-speckled European lark, Alauda arvensis, famed for its melodious song.

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verb (used without object)

1. to frolic; sport.

   The children were skylarking on the beach.

skylark British  

/ ˈskaɪˌlɑːk /

noun

1. an Old World lark, Alauda arvensis, noted for singing while hovering at a great height

2. any of various Australian larks

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verb

1. informal (intr) to romp or play jokes

Other Word Forms

• skylarker
  noun

Etymology

Origin of skylark

First recorded in 1770–80; sky + lark ¹

Example Sentences

A conservator uncovers the shard, which bears an intense blue figure of a skylark — evidence, at least to the reader, that Alouette’s recipe endured, and a symbol of how both she and Sasha escaped.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026

Birds like the meadow pipit and skylark use the heather for nesting, and it is also a source of food for the red grouse.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2022

Thought for Today: “Who will give me back those days when life had wings and flew just like a skylark in the sky.”

From Washington Times • Feb. 28, 2019

Many bird species have also been observed on the site, including the curlew, wigeon, skylark, warbler, ringed plover, and whinchat.

From The Verge • Jan. 16, 2018

It is not really about the countryside at all; nature is there purely as a metaphor for feelings, as it was for Wordsworth and his daffodils, Shelley with his skylark and Keats with his nightingale.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• cavort
• frolic
• gambol
• prance