What does "perk" mean?
Perquisite.
Perk
/pɝk/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Perquisite.
- Grammar: perk is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: fringe benefit, perquisite, act, advantage.
- Useful contrasts: cost, deny, depress.
- Usage evidence: There's the perk of letting you join communities for paying members.
How to use "perk"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "perk" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "perk" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "perk" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "perk" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "perk" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "fringe benefit" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "perk", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Perquisite. informal
"Free coffee is one of the perks of the job."
- 2 A percolator, particularly of coffee.
- 3 an incidental benefit awarded for certain types of employment (especially if it is regarded as a right) wordnet
- 4 A bonus ability that a player character can acquire; a permanent power-up.
Verb
- 1 To make (coffee) in a percolator or a drip coffeemaker. informal, transitive
"I’ll perk some coffee."
- 2 To make trim or smart; to straighten up; to erect; to make a jaunty or saucy display of. transitive
"[the squirrel] whisks his brush And perks his ears, and stamps and scolds aloud"
- 3 To peer; to look narrowly, sharply, or inquisitively. dated
"He is a tall, thin, bony man, with an interrogative nose, and little restless perking eyes, which appear to have been given him for the sole purpose of peeping into other people’s affairs with."
- 4 To perch. obsolete
"His seconde hawke wexyd gery And was with flyenge wery. She had flowyn so oft, That on the rode loft She perkyd her to rest."
- 5 gain or regain energy wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Of coffee: to be produced by heated water seeping (“percolating”) through coffee grounds. informal, intransitive
"The coffee is perking."
- 7 To appear from below or behind something, emerge, pop up, poke out. intransitive
"The heads of plants above the crack’d ground perk:"
- 8 To examine thoroughly. dialectal
- 9 To exalt oneself; to bear oneself loftily. intransitive, obsolete
"1574, Arthur Golding (translator), Sermons of Master John Calvin, upon the Booke of Job, London: Lucas Harison and George Byshop, Sermon 38, The first upon the tenth Chapter, For whereof commeth thys hypocrisie in the popedome, that men shall preache free will, merits, and satisfactions, and set vp their bristles in suche wise, and beare themselues in hande that they may come perking before God, yea and preace thither lyke shamelesse strumpets."
Adjective
- 1 Smart; trim; spruce; jaunty; vain. obsolete
"My ragged rontes all shiver and shake, As doen high Towers in an earthquake: They wont in the wind wagge their wrigle tailes, Perke as Peacock: but nowe it auales."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"There's the perk of letting you join communities for paying members."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "perk"?
Common synonyms include: fringe benefit, perquisite, act, advantage, appanage, benefit.
How do you use "perk" in a sentence?
There's the perk of letting you join communities for paying members.
How do you pronounce "perk"?
Pronounced /pɝk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Clipping of perquisite.
Etymology 2
Clipping of percolate (verb) and percolator (noun).
Etymology 3
Origin uncertain. Perhaps a metathesis of prick.
Etymology 4
The origin is uncertain. Perhaps a variant of peer + -k (frequentative ending).
Etymology 5
From Middle English perken, from Old Northern French perquer.