Words whose 5th letter is K

Aback (adv.) Backward against the mast; -- said of the sails when pressed by the wind.

Alkekengi (n.) An herbaceous plant of the nightshade family (Physalis alkekengi) and its fruit, which is a well flavored berry, the size of a cherry, loosely inclosed in a enlarged leafy calyx; -- also called winter cherry, ground cherry, and strawberry tomato.

Autokinetic (a.) Self-moving; moving automatically.

Betake (v. t.) To have recourse to; to apply; to resort; to go; -- with a reflexive pronoun.

Blackball (n.) A ball of black color, esp. one used as a negative in voting; -- in this sense usually two words.

Blackband (n.) An earthy carbonate of iron containing considerable carbonaceous matter; -- valuable as an iron ore.

Blackbird (n.) In England, a species of thrush (Turdus merula), a singing bird with a fin note; the merle. In America the name is given to several birds, as the Quiscalus versicolor, or crow blackbird; the Agelaeus phoeniceus, or red-winged blackbird; the cowbird; the rusty grackle, etc. See Redwing.

Blackcoat (n.) A clergyman; -- familiarly so called, as a soldier is sometimes called a redcoat or a bluecoat.

Blackcock (n.) The male of the European black grouse (Tetrao tetrix, Linn.); -- so called by sportsmen. The female is called gray hen. See Heath grouse.

Blackfish (n.) The black sea bass (Centropristis atrarius) of the Atlantic coast. It is excellent food fish; -- locally called also black Harry.

Blackguard (n.) The scullions and lower menials of a court, or of a nobleman's household, who, in a removal from one residence to another, had charge of the kitchen utensils, and being smutted by them, were jocularly called the "black guard"; also, the servants and hangers-on of an army.

Blackheart (n.) A heart-shaped cherry with a very dark-colored skin.

Blacklist (v. t.) To put in a black list as deserving of suspicion, censure, or punishment; esp. to put in a list of persons stigmatized as insolvent or untrustworthy, -- as tradesmen and employers do for mutual protection; as, to blacklist a workman who has been discharged. See Black list, under Black, a.

Blackstrap (n.) Bad port wine; any common wine of the Mediterranean; -- so called by sailors.

Blackstrap (n.) Bad port wine; any common wine of the Mediterranean; -- so called by sailors.

Blacktail (n.) The black-tailed deer (Cervus / Cariacus Columbianus) of California and Oregon; also, the mule deer of the Rocky Mountains. See Mule deer.

Blackwork (n.) Work wrought by blacksmiths; -- so called in distinction from that wrought by whitesmiths.

Blackbird (n.) A native of any of the islands near Queensland; -- called also Kanaka.

Blackbird (n.) A native of any of the islands near Queensland; -- called also Kanaka.

Blank (a.) Free from writing, printing, or marks; having an empty space to be filled in with some special writing; -- said of checks, official documents, etc.; as, blank paper; a blank check; a blank ballot.

Blank (n.) A paper unwritten; a paper without marks or characters a blank ballot; -- especially, a paper on which are to be inserted designated items of information, for which spaces are left vacant; a bland form.

Block (v. t.) A grooved pulley or sheave incased in a frame or shell which is provided with a hook, eye, or strap, by which it may be attached to an object. It is used to change the direction of motion, as in raising a heavy object that can not be conveniently reached, and also, when two or more such sheaves are compounded, to change the rate of motion, or to exert increased force; -- used especially in the rigging of ships, and in tackles.

Block (n.) To obstruct so as to prevent passage or progress; to prevent passage from, through, or into, by obstructing the way; -- used both of persons and things; -- often followed by up; as, to block up a road or harbor.

Blockhouse (n.) An edifice or structure of heavy timbers or logs for military defense, having its sides loopholed for musketry, and often an upper story projecting over the lower, or so placed upon it as to have its sides make an angle wit the sides of the lower story, thus enabling the defenders to fire downward, and in all directions; -- formerly much used in America and Germany.

Bracket (n.) One of two characters [], used to inclose a reference, explanation, or note, or a part to be excluded from a sentence, to indicate an interpolation, to rectify a mistake, or to supply an omission, and for certain other purposes; -- called also crotchet.

Brank (v. i.) To hold up and toss the head; -- applied to horses as spurning the bit.

Brankursine (n.) Bear's-breech, or Acanthus.

Break (v. t.) To impart, as news or information; to broach; -- with to, and often with a modified word implying some reserve; as, to break the news gently to the widow; to break a purpose cautiously to a friend.

Break (v. t.) A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.

Brick (n.) A block or clay tempered with water, sand, etc., molded into a regular form, usually rectangular, and sun-dried, or burnt in a kiln, or in a heap or stack called a clamp.

Brisk (v. t. & i.) To make or become lively; to enliven; to animate; to take, or cause to take, an erect or bold attitude; -- usually with up.

Brocket (n.) A male red deer two years old; -- sometimes called brock.

Brookweed (n.) A small white-flowered herb (Samolus Valerandi) found usually in wet places; water pimpernel.

Bracket (n.) A figure determined by firing a projectile beyond a target and another short of it, as a basis for ascertaining the proper elevation of the piece; -- only used in the phrase, to establish a bracket. After the bracket is established shots are fired with intermediate elevations until the exact range is obtained. In the United States navy it is called fork.

Brickfielder (n.) Orig., at Sydney, a cold and violent south or southwest wind, rising suddenly, and regularly preceded by a hot wind from the north; -- now usually called southerly buster. It blew across the Brickfields, formerly so called, a district of Sydney, and carried clouds of dust into the city.

Check (v. i.) To make a stop; to pause; -- with at.

Checkerboard (n.) A board with sixty-four squares of alternate color, used for playing checkers or draughts.

Checkmate (n.) The position in the game of chess when a king is in check and cannot be released, -- which ends the game.

Checkrein (n.) A short rein looped over the check hook to prevent a horse from lowering his head; -- called also a bearing rein.

Checkroll (n.) A list of servants in a household; -- called also chequer roll.

Checky (a.) Divided into small alternating squares of two tinctures; -- said of the field or of an armorial bearing.

Cheeked (a.) Having a cheek; -- used in composition.

Cheeky () a Brazen-faced; impudent; bold.

Chick (n.) A child or young person; -- a term of endearment.

Chickadee (n.) A small bird, the blackcap titmouse (Parus atricapillus), of North America; -- named from its note.

Chickaree (n.) The American red squirrel (Sciurus Hudsonius); -- so called from its cry.

Chicky (n.) A chicken; -- used as a diminutive or pet name, especially in calling fowls.

Chock (n.) A heavy casting of metal, usually fixed near the gunwale. It has two short horn-shaped arms curving inward, between which ropes or hawsers may pass for towing, mooring, etc.

Chouka (n.) The Indian four-horned antelope; the chikara.

Chuck (n.) A small pebble; -- called also chuckstone and chuckiestone.

Cleek (n.) A large hook or crook, as for a pot over a fire; specif., an iron-headed golf club with a straight, narrow face and a long shaft.

Clink (n.) A prison cell; a lockup; -- probably orig. the name of the noted prison in Southwark, England.

Clockwise (a. & adv.) Like the motion of the hands of a clock; -- said of that direction of a rotation about an axis, or about a point in a plane, which is ordinarily reckoned negative.

Claik (n.) The bernicle goose; -- called also clack goose.

Clank (n.) A sharp, brief, ringing sound, made by a collision of metallic or other sonorous bodies; -- usually expressing a duller or less resounding sound than clang, and a deeper and stronger sound than clink.

Crack (v. t.) To cry up; to extol; -- followed by up.

Crack (v. i.) To utter vain, pompous words; to brag; to boast; -- with of.

Crack (n.) A crazy or crack-brained person.

Cracker (n.) A small firework, consisting of a little powder inclosed in a thick paper cylinder with a fuse, and exploding with a sharp noise; -- often called firecracker.

Crackled (a.) Covered with minute cracks in the glaze; -- said of some kinds of porcelain and fine earthenware.

Crackling (n.) The well-browned, crisp rind of roasted pork.

Crankness (n.) Liability to be overset; -- said of a ship or other vessel.

Croaker (n.) An American fresh-water fish (Aplodinotus grunniens); -- called also drum.

Crookes tube () A vacuum tube in which the exhaustion is carried to a very high degree, with the production of a distinct class of effects; -- so called from W. Crookes who introduced it.

Doeskin (n.) A firm woolen cloth with a smooth, soft surface like a doe's skin; -- made for men's wear.

Doucker (v. t.) A grebe or diver; -- applied also to the golden-eye, pochard, scoter, and other ducks.

Drawknife (n.) A joiner's tool having a blade with a handle at each end, used to shave off surfaces, by drawing it toward one; a shave; -- called also drawshave, and drawing shave.

Drosky (n.) A low, four-wheeled, open carriage, used in Russia, consisting of a kind of long, narrow bench, on which the passengers ride as on a saddle, with their feet reaching nearly to the ground. Other kinds of vehicles are now so called, esp. a kind of victoria drawn by one or two horses, and used as a public carriage in German cities.

Drunk (a.) Intoxicated with, or as with, strong drink; inebriated; drunken; -- never used attributively, but always predicatively; as, the man is drunk (not, a drunk man).

Drunkenness (n.) The state of being drunken with, or as with, alcoholic liquor; intoxication; inebriety; -- used of the casual state or the habit.

Flacket (n.) A barrel-shaped bottle; a flagon.

Flask (n.) A small bottle-shaped vessel for holding fluids; as, a flask of oil or wine.

Flask (n.) A narrow-necked vessel of metal or glass, used for various purposes; as of sheet metal, to carry gunpowder in; or of wrought iron, to contain quicksilver; or of glass, to heat water in, etc.

Flicker (n.) The golden-winged woodpecker (Colaptes aurutus); -- so called from its spring note. Called also yellow-hammer, high-holder, pigeon woodpecker, and yucca.

Flock (n.) A company or collection of living creatures; -- especially applied to sheep and birds, rarely to persons or (except in the plural) to cattle and other large animals; as, a flock of ravenous fowl.

Frank (n.) The common heron; -- so called from its note.

Frank (n.) Unrestrained; loose; licentious; -- used in a bad sense.

Frank (a.) A native or inhabitant of Western Europe; a European; -- a term used in the Levant.

Frankalmoigne (a.) A tenure by which a religious corporation holds lands given to them and their successors forever, usually on condition of praying for the soul of the donor and his heirs; -- called also tenure by free alms.

Gleek (n.) Three of the same cards held in the same hand; -- hence, three of anything.

Glockenspiel (n.) An instrument, originally a series of bells on an iron rod, now a set of flat metal bars, diatonically tuned, giving a bell-like tone when played with a mallet; a carillon.

Grackle (n.) One of several American blackbirds, of the family Icteridae; as, the rusty grackle (Scolecophagus Carolinus); the boat-tailed grackle (see Boat-tail); the purple grackle (Quiscalus quiscula, or Q. versicolor). See Crow blackbird, under Crow.

Harikari (n.) See Hara-kiri.

Intake (n.) The place where water or air is taken into a pipe or conduit; -- opposed to outlet.

Kawaka (n.) a New Zealand tree, the Cypress cedar (Libocedrus Doniana), having a valuable, fine-grained, reddish wood.

Kayak (n.) A light canoe, made of skins stretched over a frame, and usually capable of carrying but one person, who sits amidships and uses a double-bladed paddle. It is peculiar to the Eskimos and other Arctic tribes.

Kiwikiwi (n.) Any species of Apteryx, esp. A. australis; -- so called in imitation of its notes. Called also kiwi. See Apteryx.

Knacker (n.) One of two or more pieces of bone or wood held loosely between the fingers, and struck together by moving the hand; -- called also clapper.

Knacker (n.) One who slaughters worn-out horses and sells their flesh for dog's meat.

Knuckle (n.) A contrivance, usually of brass or iron, and furnished with points, worn to protect the hand, to add force to a blow, and to disfigure the person struck; as, brass knuckles; -- called also knuckle duster.

Knuckle (v. i.) To yield; to submit; -- used with down, to, or under.

Knickerbocker (n.) A linsey-woolsey fabric having a rough knotted surface on the right side; used for women's dresses.

Knock (v. i.) To practice evil speaking or fault-finding; to criticize habitually or captiously.

Knockabout (n.) A small yacht, generally from fifteen to twenty-five feet in length, having a mainsail and a jib. All knockabouts have ballast and either a keel or centerboard. The original type was twenty-one feet in length. The next larger type is called a raceabout.

Knockabout (a.) That does odd jobs; -- said of a class of hands or laborers on a sheep station.

Kodak (n.) A kind of portable photographic camera, esp. adapted for snapshot work, in which a succession of negatives is made upon a continuous roll of sensitized film; -- a trade-mark name of the Eastman Kodak Company, but now popularly applied to almost any hand camera.

Lambkill (n.) A small American ericaceous shrub (Kalmia angustifolia); -- called also calfkill, sheepkill, sheep laurel, etc. It is supposed to poison sheep and other animals that eat it at times when the snow is deep and they cannot find other food.

Lorikeet (n.) Any one numerous species of small brush-tongued parrots or lories, found mostly in Australia, New Guinea and the adjacent islands, with some forms in the East Indies. They are arboreal in their habits and feed largely upon the honey of flowers. They belong to Trichoglossus, Loriculus, and several allied genera.

Manakin (n.) Any one of numerous small birds belonging to Pipra, Manacus, and other genera of the family Pipridae. They are mostly natives of Central and South America. some are bright-colored, and others have the wings and tail curiously ornamented. The name is sometimes applied to related birds of other families.

Manikin (n.) A model of the human body, made of papier-mache or other material, commonly in detachable pieces, for exhibiting the different parts and organs, their relative position, etc.

Outskirt (n.) A part remote from the center; outer edge; border; -- usually in the plural; as, the outskirts of a town.

Parakeet (n.) Any one of numerous species of small parrots having a graduated tail, which is frequently very long; -- called also paroquet and paraquet.

Pigskin (n.) The skin of a pig, -- used chiefly for making saddles; hence, a colloquial or slang term for a saddle.

Pigskin (n.) A football; -- so called because the covering is often made of pigskin.

Placket (n.) The opening or slit left in a petticoat or skirt for convenience in putting it on; -- called also placket hole.

Pluck (v. i.) To make a motion of pulling or twitching; -- usually with at; as, to pluck at one's gown.

Pluckless (a.) Without pluck; timid; faint-hearted.

Prank (v. t.) To adorn in a showy manner; to dress or equip ostentatiously; -- often followed by up; as, to prank up the body. See Prink.

Prick (v.) A mathematical point; -- regularly used in old English translations of Euclid.

Prick (n.) To pierce slightly with a sharp-pointed instrument or substance; to make a puncture in, or to make by puncturing; to drive a fine point into; as, to prick one with a pin, needle, etc.; to prick a card; to prick holes in paper.

Prick (n.) To mark or denote by a puncture; to designate by pricking; to choose; to mark; -- sometimes with off.

Prick (n.) To ride or guide with spurs; to spur; to goad; to incite; to urge on; -- sometimes with on, or off.

Prick (n.) To make sharp; to erect into a point; to raise, as something pointed; -- said especially of the ears of an animal, as a horse or dog; and usually followed by up; -- hence, to prick up the ears, to listen sharply; to have the attention and interest strongly engaged.

Prick (n.) To dress; to prink; -- usually with up.

Pricker (n.) A priming wire; a priming needle, -- used in blasting and gunnery.

Pricker (n.) A small marPrickle (n.) A kind of willow basket; -- a term still used in some branches of trade.

Prickle (n.) A sieve of filberts, -- about fifty pounds.

Pricklouse (n.) A tailor; -- so called in contempt.

Pricksong (v. t.) Music written, or noted, with dots or points; -- so called from the points or dots with which it is noted down.

Prickwood (n.) A shrub (Euonymus Europaeus); -- so named from the use of its wood for goads, skewers, and shoe pegs. Called also spindle tree.

Pumpkin (n.) A well-known trailing plant (Cucurbita pepo) and its fruit, -- used for cooking and for feeding stock; a pompion.

Quick (superl.) Alive; living; animate; -- opposed to dead or inanimate.

Quick (n.) The life; the mortal point; a vital part; a part susceptible of serious injury or keen feeling; the sensitive living flesh; the part of a finger or toe to which the nail is attached; the tender emotions; as, to cut a finger nail to the quick; to thrust a sword to the quick, to taunt one to the quick; -- used figuratively.

Quicken tree () The European rowan tree; -- called also quickbeam, and quickenbeam. See Rowan tree.

Quicklime (a.) Calcium oxide; unslacked lime; -- so called because when wet it develops great heat. See 4th Lime, 2.

Quicksilver (a.) The metal mercury; -- so called from its resemblance to liquid silver.

Quicksilvering (n.) The mercury and foil on the back of a looking-glass.

Quirk (n.) A piece of ground taken out of any regular ground plot or floor, so as to make a court, yard, etc.; -- sometimes written quink.

Shuck (v. t.) To remove or take off (shucks); hence, to discard; to lay aside; -- usually with off.

Shackle (n.) A link for connecting railroad cars; -- called also drawlink, draglink, etc.

Shank (v.) A wading bird with long legs; as, the green-legged shank, or knot; the yellow shank, or tattler; -- called also shanks.

Shank (v.) Flat-nosed pliers, used by opticians for nipping off the edges of pieces of glass to make them round.

Shank (v. i.) To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; -- usually followed by off.

Shirk (v. t.) To avoid; to escape; to neglect; -- implying unfaithfulness or fraud; as, to shirk duty.

Shock (n.) A lot consisting of sixty pieces; -- a term applied in some Baltic ports to loose goods.

Shock (n.) A dog with long hair or shag; -- called also shockdog.

Shopkeeper (n.) A trader who sells goods in a shop, or by retail; -- in distinction from one who sells by wholesale.

Slink (a.) To miscarry; -- said of female beasts.

Slink (v. t.) To cast prematurely; -- said of female beasts; as, a cow that slinks her calf.

Smicket (n.) A woman's under-garment; a smock.

Smock (n.) A woman's under-garment; a shift; a chemise.

Snack (v. t.) A share; a part or portion; -- obsolete, except in the colloquial phrase, to go snacks, i. e., to share.

Sneak (n.) A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; -- called also grub.

Snook (n.) A large perchlike marine food fish (Centropomus undecimalis) found both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of tropical America; -- called also ravallia, and robalo.

Spanker (n.) The after sail of a ship or bark, being a fore-and-aft sail attached to a boom and gaff; -- sometimes called driver. See Illust. under Sail.

Speak (v. i.) To convey sentiments, ideas, or intelligence as if by utterance; as, features that speak of self-will.

Spicknel (n.) An umbelliferous herb (Meum Athamanticum) having finely divided leaves, common in Europe; -- called also baldmoney, mew, and bearwort.

Stack (a.) A data structure within random-access memory used to simulate a hardware stack; as, a push-down stack.

Stalk (v. i.) To walk slowly and cautiously; to walk in a stealthy, noiseless manner; -- sometimes used with a reflexive pronoun.

Steak (v. t.) A slice of beef, broiled, or cut for broiling; -- also extended to the meat of other large animals; as, venison steak; bear steak; pork steak; turtle steak.

Stick (v. i.) To be embarrassed or puzzled; to hesitate; to be deterred, as by scruples; to scruple; -- often with at.

Stinkball (n.) A composition of substances which in combustion emit a suffocating odor; -- used formerly in naval warfare.

Stinkpot (n.) An earthen jar charged with powder, grenades, and other materials of an offensive and suffocating smell, -- sometimes used in boarding an enemy's vessel.

Stinkstone (n.) One of the varieties of calcite, barite, and feldspar, which emit a fetid odor on being struck; -- called also swinestone.

Stock (n.) Money or capital which an individual or a firm employs in business; fund; in the United States, the capital of a bank or other company, in the form of transferable shares, each of a certain amount; money funded in government securities, called also the public funds; in the plural, property consisting of shares in joint-stock companies, or in the obligations of a government for its funded debt; -- so in the United States, but in England the latter only are called stocks, and the form> Stock (n.) Domestic animals or beasts collectively, used or raised on a farm; as, a stock of cattle or of sheep, etc.; -- called also live stock.

Stock (n.) Any cruciferous plant of the genus Matthiola; as, common stock (Matthiola incana) (see Gilly-flower); ten-weeks stock (M. annua).

Stock (n.) A liquid or jelly containing the juices and soluble parts of meat, and certain vegetables, etc., extracted by cooking; -- used in making soup, gravy, etc.

Stock (v. t.) To suffer to retain milk for twenty-four hours or more previous to sale, as cows.

Stockinet (n.) An elastic textile fabric imitating knitting, of which stockings, under-garments, etc., are made.

Stocking (n.) A close-fitting covering for the foot and leg, usually knit or woven.

Strike (v. t.) To advance; to cause to go forward; -- used only in past participle.

Strike (v. i.) To break forth; to commence suddenly; -- with into; as, to strike into reputation; to strike into a run.

Strike (v. i.) To become attached to something; -- said of the spat of oysters.

Stroke (v. t.) The oar nearest the stern of a boat, by which the other oars are guided; -- called also stroke oar.

Stocking (n.) Any of various things resembling, or likened to, a stocking; as: (a) A broad ring of color, differing from the general color, on the lower part of the leg of a quadruped; esp., a white ring between the coronet and the hock or knee of a dark-colored horse. (b) A knitted hood of cotton thread which is eventually converted by a special process into an incandescent mantle for gas lighting.

Strike (n.) Same as Ten-strike.

Thank (n.) A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural.

Thank (n.) To express gratitude to (anyone) for a favor; to make acknowledgments to (anyone) for kindness bestowed; -- used also ironically for blame.

Thick (superl.) Measuring in the third dimension other than length and breadth, or in general dimension other than length; -- said of a solid body; as, a timber seven inches thick.

Thickhead (n.) A thick-headed or stupid person.

Thickhead (n.) Any one of several species of Australian singing birds of the genus Pachycephala. The males of some of the species are bright-colored. Some of the species are popularly called thrushes.

Thiller (n.) The horse which goes between the thills, or shafts, and supports them; also, the last horse in a team; -- called also thill horse.

Think (v. t.) To seem or appear; -- used chiefly in the expressions methinketh or methinks, and methought.

Think (v. t.) To form an opinion by reasoning; to judge; to conclude; to believe; as, I think it will rain to-morrow.

Track (n.) The entire lower surface of the foot; -- said of birds, etc.

Trackmaster (n.) One who has charge of the track; -- called also roadmaster.

Trick (a.) A turn; specifically, the spell of a sailor at the helm, -- usually two hours.

Trick (v. t.) To dress; to decorate; to set off; to adorn fantastically; -- often followed by up, off, or out.

Trinket (n.) A three-cornered sail formerly carried on a ship's foremast, probably on a lateen yard.

Truck (v. i.) A small piece of wood, usually cylindrical or disk-shaped, used for various purposes.

Truck (v. i.) A frame on low wheels or rollers; -- used for various purposes, as for a movable support for heavy bodies.

Truck (n.) The practice of paying wages in goods instead of money; -- called also truck system.

Turnkey (n.) An instrument with a hinged claw, -- used for extracting teeth with a twist.

Vierkleur (n.) The four-colored flag of the South African Republic, or Transvaal, -- red, white, blue, and green.

Whisker (n.) Formerly, the hair of the upper lip; a mustache; -- usually in the plural.

Whisky (n.) A light carriage built for rapid motion; -- called also tim-whiskey.

About the author

Mark McCracken Author: Mark McCracken is a corporate trainer and author living in Higashi Osaka, Japan. He is the author of thousands of online articles as well as the Business English textbook, "25 Business Skills in English".

Copyright © 2011 Mark McCracken , All Rights Reserved.