Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

spruik

/spɹuːk/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.25 in modern English

Syllables: spruik
IPA: /spɹuːk/

12

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To promote a thing or idea to another person, usually informally.

Australian usage; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"There was no spruiking or showmanship, no flash shirts or ten-gallon hats."
"Lennon spruiks laptop 28 years after his death [title]"
"It can be a hard job, constantly on your feet, trying to think of things to say to lure people into the store you are spruiking for."

Etymology

Unknown, likely Germanic. Compare Dutch spraak (“speech”), spreek (“speak”), spreuk (“saying”), sprook (“a story, fiction, tale, or false idea”). First recorded in the late 1890s and early 1900s, suggesting a possible derivation from Afrikaans (i.e. brought back by soldiers returning from the Boer War). With the exception of a few early uses of sprook, the word's spelling has been fixed since it first entered the language. The uncommon ⟨ui⟩ digraph provides further evidence for an Afrikaans or Dutch origin.

Usage

Inflected Forms

spruiks (present, singular) spruiking (participle, present) spruiked (participle, past) spruiked (past) sprook (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

spruiker

Synonyms

pimp pitch tout hawk

Rhymes With

look duke luke nuke puke fluke rebuke chinook spook juke kook sook

Questions

How do you pronounce spruik?: The recorded pronunciation is /spɹuːk/.
What does spruik mean?: To promote a thing or idea to another person, usually informally.
Where does spruik come from?: Unknown, likely Germanic. Compare Dutch spraak (“speech”), spreek (“speak”), spreuk (“saying”), sprook (“a story, fiction, tale, or false idea”). First recorded in the late 1890s and early 1900s, suggesting a possible derivation from Afrikaans (i.e. brought back by soldiers returning from the Boer War). With the exception of a few early uses of sprook, the word's spelling has been fixed since it first entered the language. The uncommon ⟨ui⟩ digraph provides further evidence for an Afrikaans or Dutch origin.

How to pronounce spruik

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