Meaning

25 senses
  1. Any of several types of pronged (tined) tools (physical tools), as follows:

    A utensil with spikes used to put solid food into the mouth, or to hold food down while cutting, or for serving food.

    Gabel

    ви́лкаvílka

    ви́лкаvýlka, виде́лкаvydélka

    a utensil with two or more prongs, used for serving or eating food

  2. Any of several types of pronged tools for use on farms, in fields, or in the garden or lawn, such as a smaller hand fork for weeding or a larger one for turning over the soil.

  3. Any of several types of pronged tools for use on farms, in fields, or in the garden or lawn, such as a smaller hand fork for weeding or a larger one for turning over the soil.

    Such a pronged tool having a long straight handle, generally for two-handed use, as used for digging, lifting, mucking, pitching, etc.

    an agricultural tool used for lifting or digging; has a handle and metal prongs

  4. Any of several types of pronged (tined) tools (physical tools), as follows:

    A tuning fork.

  5. A fork in the road, as follows:

    (physical)An intersection in a road or path where one road is split into two.

    Gabelung, Verzweigung

    разви́лкаrazvílka

    розви́лкаrozvýlka

  6. (figuratively)A decision point.

  7. A point where a waterway, such as a river or other stream, splits and flows into two (or more) different directions.

    Gabelung, Verzweigung

  8. (metonymically)One of the parts into which anything is furcated or divided; a prong; a branch of a stream, a road, etc.; a barbed point, as of an arrow.

    a thunderbolt with three forks

    this fork of the river dries up during droughts

  9. (figuratively)A point in time where one has to make a decision between two life paths.

  10. A point in time where one has to make a decision between two life paths.

    (figuratively, metonymically)Either of the (figurative) paths thus taken.

  11. (software development, content management, data management) A departure from having a single source of truth (SSOT), sometimes intentionally but usually unintentionally.

    (figuratively, metonymically)Any of the pieces/versions (of software, content, or data sets) thus created.

  12. (figuratively)The launch of one or more separate software development efforts based upon a modified copy of an existing project, especially in free and open-source software.

Examples

245 sentences
  1. A fork fell off the table.

    Зі стола впала виделка.

    ruСо стола упала вилка.

    deEine Gabel ist vom Tisch gefallen.

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  2. Eating yogurt with a fork is somewhat difficult.

    Їсти йогурт виделкою дещо нелегко.

    ruЕсть йогурт вилкой довольно трудно.

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  3. The boy can handle a knife and fork very well.

    Хлопчик вміє добре користуватися ножем та виделкою.

    ruМальчик умеет пользоваться ножом и вилкой.

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  4. Tom put down his spoon and picked up a fork.

    Том поклав ложку і взяв виделку.

    ruТом отложил ложку и взял вилку.

    deTom legte den Löffel weg und nahm eine Gabel.

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  5. One fork is missing.

    Бракує однієї виделки.

    ruНе хватает одной вилки.

    deEine Gabel fehlt.

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Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 3
pronged tool:
eating utensil:
intersection:
Русский
By meaning 4
pronged tool:
name of some river tributaries:
eating utensil:
intersection:
Deutsch
By meaning 4
pronged tool:
computer science: splitting of a process:
computer science: a separately developed project based upon a copy of an existing project:
intersection:

Origin

From Middle English forke (“digging fork”), from Old English force, forca (“forked instrum

From Middle English forke (“digging fork”), from Old English force, forca (“forked instrument used to torture”), from Proto-West Germanic *furkō (“fork”), from Latin furca (“pitchfork, forked stake; gallows, beam, stake, support post, yoke”), of uncertain origin. The Middle English word was later reinforced by Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French forque (= Old French forche whence French fourche), also from the Latin. Doublet of fourche and furcate. Cognate also with North Frisian forck (“fork”), Dutch vork (“fork”), Danish fork (“fork”), German Forke (“pitchfork”). Displaced native gafol, ġeafel, ġeafle (“fork”), from Old English.

Ultimately from Etymology 1, above, through use for various things with two or more branches. Attested in this sense from the 18th century.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: forks
Singularfork
Pluralforks

regular

Synonyms

8 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • the region of the angle formed by the junction of two branches:crotch
  • the angle formed by the inner sides of the legs where they join the human trunk:crotch
  • the act of branching out or dividing into branches:branchingramificationforking

Antonyms

2 antonyms
confluencesingle source of truth, SSOT

Word family

88 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
fork — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto