Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

spelunk

/spəˈlʌŋk/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
spelunk
IPA
/spəˈlʌŋk/
13
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A cave, cavern or grotto.

Obsolete

verb

To explore caves.

verb

To explore a system in depth.

Etymology

From Middle English spelunke, from Old French spelonque and/or Latin spelunca, from Ancient Greek σπῆλυγξ (spêlunx, “cave”), related to σπέος (spéos). Cognates include Middle Dutch spelunke, spelonke, German Spelunke.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: spelunke, spelonque, spelunca, σπῆλυγξ

Usage

Inflected Forms

spelunks (plural) spelunc (alternative) spelunks (present, singular) spelunking (participle, present) spelunked (participle, past) spelunked (past)

Derived Forms

spelunking

Synonyms

cave

Rhymes With

drunk punk trunk junk monk sunk funk chunk dunk bunk shrunk hunk

Questions

How do you pronounce spelunk?
The recorded pronunciation is /spəˈlʌŋk/.
What does spelunk mean?
A cave, cavern or grotto.
Where does spelunk come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce spelunk

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