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View synonyms for lark

lark

1

[ lahrk ]

noun

  1. any of numerous, chiefly Old World oscine birds, of the family Alaudidae, characterized by an unusually long, straight hind claw, especially the skylark, Alauda arvensis.
  2. any of various similar birds of other families, as the meadowlark and titlark.


lark

2

[ lahrk ]

noun

  1. a merry, carefree adventure; frolic; escapade.
  2. innocent or good-natured mischief; a prank.
  3. something extremely easy to accomplish, succeed in, or to obtain:

    That exam was a lark.

verb (used without object)

  1. to have fun; frolic; romp.
  2. to behave mischievously; play pranks.
  3. Fox Hunting. (of a rider) to take jumps unnecessarily:

    He tired his horse by larking on the way home.

lark

1

/ lɑːk /

noun

  1. a carefree adventure or frolic
  2. a harmless piece of mischief
  3. what a lark!
    what a lark! how amusing!


verb

  1. often foll by about to have a good time by frolicking
  2. to play a prank

lark

2

/ lɑːk /

noun

  1. any brown songbird of the predominantly Old World family Alaudidae, esp the skylark: noted for their singing
  2. short for titlark meadowlark
  3. often capital any of various slender but powerful fancy pigeons, such as the Coburg Lark
  4. up with the lark
    up with the lark up early in the morning

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Derived Forms

  • ˈlarker, noun
  • ˈlarkish, adjective
  • ˈlarkishness, noun

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Other Words From

  • larker noun
  • larki·ness larkish·ness noun
  • larking·ly adverb
  • larkish larky adjective
  • larkish·ly adverb
  • larksome adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of lark1

before 900; Middle English larke, Old English lāwerce; cognate with German Lerche, Dutch leeuwerik, Old Norse lǣvirki

Origin of lark2

First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain

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Word History and Origins

Origin of lark1

C19: originally slang, perhaps related to laik

Origin of lark2

Old English lāwerce, lǣwerce, of Germanic origin; related to German Lerche, Icelandic lǣvirki

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Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with lark , also see happy as the day is long (as a lark) .

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Example Sentences

Free Crimea, we ultimately discover, is the work of a drunken Brit on a lark.

But what started as a lark became a professional passion for Holland.

The idea was conceived by a food scientist at Brigham Young University, who added dry ice to the cultured dairy on a lark.

Like so many young girls, she tried modeling as a lark, a way of escaping the humdrum and finding glamour.

Mercury on a lark in your opposite sign calls for expressions that run counter to the woulda-shoulda-coulda loop in your mind.

Hence Shakespeare speaks of 'the lark, that tirra-lyra chants,' Wint.

High overhead a lark was pouring out its song; in the lane at the orchard end rang the beat of trotting hoofs.

Or how is it that grass grows in the fields, and the lark sings in the sky, and the trees lose their leaves in winter?

He was as gay as a lark, humming an Oppra tune, and twizzting round his head his hevy gold-headed cane.

Up we marched to our apartmince, me carrying the light and the cloax, master hummink a hair out of the oppra, as merry as a lark.

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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.

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