A2noun1K

Fork

UK /["/fɔːk/"]/US /["/fɔːrk/"]/

Definition

a tool with a handle and three or four sharp points (called prongs), used for picking up and eating food

In simple words: A tool with prongs used to eat food.

Examples

  • to eat with a **knife and fork**
  • Mash the mixture with a fork.
  • He put the knives and forks on the table.
  • She impaled a piece of meat on her fork.
  • Take the right fork.
  • Shortly before dusk they reached a fork and took the left-hand track.
  • Bear left at the fork in the road.
  • a jagged fork of lightning
  • a monkey sitting in the fork of the tree

Usage notes

Use 'fork' when discussing utensils or tools for eating. It's suitable for casual dining settings, but can also be used in formal contexts. Avoid using when referring to non-eating contexts unless specified (like in a metaphor).

Grammar pattern

standalone noun

Memory hint

Sounds like 'fork' — imagine a fork in the road, where you choose to eat or not.

Collocations

  • toasting
  • salad
  • plastic
  • pick up
  • put down
  • use
  • on a/​the fork
  • with a fork
  • a knife and fork
  • left
  • right
  • take
  • at a/​the fork
  • in fork
  • fork in

Synonyms

  • utensil
  • implement
  • prong

Antonyms

  • knife
  • spoon

Common mistakes

  • Confused with 'spoon' – forgetting that a fork has prongs.
  • Using 'fork' as a verb without context – must specify it's an action related to eating or forking something.
  • Mispronouncing the initial 'f' sound.