bloke
/bloʊk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.55 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An exemplar of a certain masculine, independent male archetype.
Australian usage; New Zealand usage
noun
A man who behaves in a particularly laddish or overtly heterosexual manner.
British usage; Informal
noun
(A lower deck term for) the captain or executive officer of a warship, especially one regarded as tough on discipline and punishment.
British usage; Slang
Example Sentences
- "He accordingly opened it [a letter], and read as follows:– "Tim put on the tats yesterday and went out a durry-nakin on the shadows, gadding a hoof. He buzzed a bloak and a shakester of a yack and a skin. […]" […] we will lay before our readers a translation of the slang document:– "Tim dressed himself in rags yesterday, and went out disguised as a beggar half-naked and without shoes or stockings. He robbed a gentleman and a lady of a watch and a purse. […]""
- "Now I tell yer straight, I don't call it square for two big bloaks like us to tackle [i.e., steal from] one poor woman, and she a widder, and p'raps as 'ard up as us; it isn't English."
- "Half-sheepishly, the mechanic had eased round to nudge his mate to look also at the comical-looking bloke. And the bloke caught them both. They wiped the grin off their faces. Because the little bloke looked at them quite straight, so observant, and so indifferent."
- "The door flew open, and there was a bloke with spectacles on his face and all round the spectacles an expression of strained anguish. A bloke with a secret sorrow."
- "Now, she messed around with a bloke named Smoky, She loved him though he was cokie, […]"
- "No use, with a bloke like this, cracking up your own merits. Stick to the truth."
Etymology
Origin unknown; the following borrowings have been hypothesized: * From a modern Celtic language, such as Irish bloc (“block”) or Scottish Gaelic ploc (“large, stubborn person”, literally “block of wood”), themselves borrowings from English block * From Hindustani لوک (lok) / लोक (lok, “people, folk”) or Shelta loke (“man”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bloʊk/
- British English: /bləʊk/
Usage
- British usage
- Informal
- Australian usage
- New Zealand usage
- Slang
- Colloquial