Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

embark

/ɪmˈbɑɹk/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English

Syllables: em-bark
IPA: /ɪmˈbɑɹk/

14

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To go aboard a craft or vessel for transportation.

verb

To start, begin.

verb

To cause to go on board a vessel or boat; to put on shipboard.

Transitive verb

verb

To engage, enlist, or invest (as persons, money, etc.) in any affair.

Transitive verb

verb

To cover or enclose with bark.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"All passengers please embark now."
"[S]ee them embarqued; / And tell me if the VVinds and Seas befriend them."
"It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy."
"Phil embarked on his journey yesterday."
""This is uncommonly nice of you, Nora," he said, before she had had the chance to embark on any explanation; […]"
"He embarked his fortune in trade."

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French embarquer, from em- + barque (“small ship”). Compare with Portuguese embarcar, Spanish abarcar.

Origin

Source language: Middle French

Word Breakdown

Root: embarquer

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɪmˈbɑɹk/
British English: /ɪmˈbɑːk/

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

embarks (present, singular) embarking (participle, present) embarked (participle, past) embarked (past)

Derived Forms

disembarkation disembarkee embarkation embarkee embarker reembark

Phrases

re-embark

Synonyms

board make sail take shipping enter ship venture

Antonyms

disembark

Rhymes With

park mark dark clark arc shark clarke marc stark spark bark ark

Questions

How do you pronounce embark?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɪmˈbɑɹk/.
What does embark mean?: To go aboard a craft or vessel for transportation.
Where does embark come from?: It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce embark

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪmˈbɑɹk/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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