Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

parkour

/pɑɹˈkʊɹ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.79 in modern English

Syllables: park-our
IPA: /pɑɹˈkʊɹ/

13

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An athletic discipline, in which practitioners traverse any environment in the most efficient way possible using their physical abilities, and which commonly involves running, jumping, vaulting, rolling, flipping, and other similar physical movements.

Uncountable

verb

To freerun; to use parkour (to move over).

Intransitive verb; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"On Astypalea, the possibilities for parkour routines are endless, as illustrated by the variety of tricks each athlete unveiled at Art of Motion."
"It's about running at 100mph through the world, then parkouring up an exploding cube van that's 100ft in the air, bouncing off it and hitting the wall and keeping on going."
"They had parkoured seven roofs, clambered down a mango tree, and crossed over the bridge in the back of a donkey cart, unnoticed even by the driver."
"The daring Ukrainian can be found on his website dangling off of tall buildings with one hand, scaling bridges and parkouring through urban landscapes in search of a personal thrill."

Etymology

Borrowed from French parkour, altered spelling of parcours (“course, route”).

Word Breakdown

Root: *ḱers-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /pɑɹˈkʊɹ/
British English: /pɑːˈkʊə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

parkours (present, singular) parkouring (participle, present) parkoured (participle, past) parkoured (past)

Derived Forms

parkourist

Phrases

free running

Frequently Paired Words

free running traceur

Rhymes With

your you're sure poor tour ensure secure pure cure mature moore assure

Questions

How do you pronounce parkour?: The recorded pronunciation is /pɑɹˈkʊɹ/.
What does parkour mean?: An athletic discipline, in which practitioners traverse any environment in the most efficient way possible using their physical abilities, and which commonly involves running, jumping, vaulting, rolling, flipping, and other similar physical movements.
Where does parkour come from?: Borrowed from French parkour, altered spelling of parcours (“course, route”).

How to pronounce parkour

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “parkour”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pɑɹˈkʊɹ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “parkour”.
Repeat and practice — Say “parkour” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.