uncork
Americanverb (used with object)
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uncorks,
present (3rd person singular)
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uncorked,
past participle, past
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uncorking
present participle
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to draw the cork from.
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Informal. to release or unveil; unleash.
to uncork one's pent-up emotions.
verb
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to draw the cork from (a bottle, etc)
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to release or unleash (emotions, etc)
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
uncorksimple
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uncorkssimple
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have uncorkedperfect
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has uncorkedperfect
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am uncorkingprogressive
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are uncorkingprogressive
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is uncorkingprogressive
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have been uncorkingperfect progressive
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has been uncorkingperfect progressive
Past
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uncorkedsimple
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had uncorkedperfect
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was uncorkingprogressive
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were uncorkingprogressive
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had been uncorkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of uncork
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:
While streaming is gaining steam with advertisers, media companies shouldn’t uncork the champagne just yet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
He proceeded to uncork a lifetime’s worth of Eastside memories in five minutes as we enjoyed our appetizer of macaroni soup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2024
Expanding Medicaid would uncork a spigot of about $1.35 billion a year in federal funds to hospitals and health care providers, according to a 2021 report by the office of the state economist.
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2023
But in the Saxons’ 27-7 victory, he continued to run directly at defenders much larger than him and uncork touchdown passes with linemen closing in.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2022
“A landslide off the bulge could uncork a hot flow across the valley and up this ridge.”
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
The composer struts in during a rehearsal, uncorks an embarrassingly stagey speech about his life and views, and forbids Guthrie from putting his modern spin on the oratorio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
Picking it up from the diagram, where the unsuspecting Bauer as Black has just played 13…a7-a6, White uncorks 14.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 26, 2023
The Djinn, eager to be freed from the glass prison from which Alitha uncorks him, begs her to make three wishes, but the skeptical Alithea isn’t just careful what she wishes for.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2022
“The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” is about a middle-age woman, a “narratologist” named Gillian, who uncorks an antique-shop bottle and, shazam, finds a handsome genie in her hotel room.
From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2021
Alan sets down a garbage bag full of Amber and Clover’s old baby clothes, uncorks a bottle of cold champagne.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Evan Jones gave it a go early on from lane one - touching the wall a fraction in front of his Scotland team-mate after the fly - but then Scott uncorked the good stuff.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Which is precisely what they uncorked to open the scoring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
They claim to share a sisterhood but whose dissimilar economic and social statuses rocket to the surface like freshly uncorked champagne bubbles.
From Salon ● Feb. 16, 2025
At one point, a splitter uncorked by Sasaki prompted Barnes to scream, “Oh, my God!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2025
I spread the lunch on a newspaper, and uncorked one of the bottles and leaned the other against a tree.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
By the end, he was holding his head high at Liu’s gold medal romp, and uncorking his back flip in the Games-ending gala.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
Corkage fees are to recoup the costs of serving the alcohol - the time spent uncorking the wine, pouring it and washing up afterwards, and sometimes bringing the wine to the right temperature as well.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2024
Last year, he threw a memorable first pitch before a Guardians games, uncorking a wild toss and that bounced to the backstop.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
Generally, the person who invited you to the party is responsible for connecting unfamiliar folks, but sometimes your host is uncorking bottles and shooing away mynah birds.
From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2023
“Yes, I expect so,” said Dumbledore, withdrawing a fresh bottle of silver memories from inside his robes and uncorking it with a prod of his wand.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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