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perk

[purk] Example Sentences Origin

perk

1[purk]
verb (used without object)
1.
to become lively, cheerful, or vigorous, as after depression or sickness (usually followed by up): The patients all perked up when we played the piano for them.
2.
to act, or carry oneself, in a jaunty manner.
3.
to put oneself forward briskly or presumptuously.
verb (used with object)
4.
to make smart, trim, or jaunty (sometimes followed by up or out): to perk up a suit with a new white blouse.
5.
to raise smartly or briskly (often followed by up or out): to perk one's head up.

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Perk is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
to spend time idly; loaf.
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
adjective
6.
perky; jaunty: a perk manner.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English perken; perhaps akin to peer2

perk·ing·ly, adverb
perk·ish, adjective
Example Sentences
  • The main reasons for the additional perk were upward revisions in the figures to do with inventories and investment.
  • In fact, providing this value-added perk is more economically do-able today than even three years ago.
  • It's a taxable but otherwise free perk at my college.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

perk

2[purk]
verb (used without object), verb (used with object) Informal.
to percolate: Has the coffee perked yet? The research team is perking with new ideas.

Origin:
1930–35, Americanism; by shortening and respelling of percolate

perk

3[purk]
noun Informal.

Origin:
1815–25; by shortening and respelling
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To perk
Collins
World English Dictionary
perk1 (pɜːk)
 
adj
1.  pert; brisk; lively
 
vb
2.  See perk up
 
[C16: see perk up]

perk2 (pɜːk)
 
vb
1.  (intr) (of coffee) to percolate
2.  (tr) to percolate (coffee)

perk3 (pɜːk)
 
n
informal (Brit) short for perquisite

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

perk
late 14c., "to make oneself trim or smart," perhaps from O.N.Fr. perquer "to perch" (Fr. percher; see perch (1)), on notion of a bird preening its plumage. Sense of "raise oneself briskly" is first attested 1520s; perk up "recover liveliness" is from 1650s.
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perk
1869, shortened and altered form of perquisite (q.v.); 1934 as shortened and altered form of percolate (see percolation).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

perk definition


  1. n.
    an extra financial benefit; a monetary inducement or reward. (From perquisite. See also benies.) : I don't get paid much, but the perks are good.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
perk
perquisite
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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