Library / English Dictionary

LARK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any carefree episode

Synonyms:

escapade; lark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("lark" is a kind of...):

diversion; recreation (an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lark"):

sexcapade (a sexual escapade; an illicit affair)

Derivation:

lark (play boisterously)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of numerous predominantly Old World birds noted for their singing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("lark" is a kind of...):

oscine; oscine bird (passerine bird having specialized vocal apparatus)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lark"):

Alauda arvensis; skylark (brown-speckled European lark noted for singing while hovering at a great height)

Holonyms ("lark" is a member of...):

Alaudidae; family Alaudidae (larks)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A songbird that lives mainly on the ground in open country; has streaky brown plumage

Synonyms:

lark; pipit; titlark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("lark" is a kind of...):

oscine; oscine bird (passerine bird having specialized vocal apparatus)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lark"):

Anthus pratensis; meadow pipit (a common pipit that is brown above and white below; widely distributed in northern and central Europe and in Asia)

Holonyms ("lark" is a member of...):

Anthus; genus Anthus (pipits)

Sense 4

Meaning:

North American songbirds having a yellow breast

Synonyms:

lark; meadowlark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("lark" is a kind of...):

American oriole; New World oriole; oriole (American songbird; male is black and orange or yellow)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lark"):

eastern meadowlark; Sturnella magna (a meadowlark of eastern North America)

Sturnella neglecta; western meadowlark (a meadowlark of western North America)

Holonyms ("lark" is a member of...):

genus Sturnella; Sturnella (a genus of passerine birds including the meadowlarks)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Play boisterously

Example:

The toddlers romped in the playroom

Synonyms:

cavort; disport; frisk; frolic; gambol; lark; lark about; rollick; romp; run around; skylark; sport

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "lark" is one way to...):

play (be at play; be engaged in playful activity; amuse oneself in a way characteristic of children)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

lark (any carefree episode)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The occasion was this: the kingdom is much pestered with flies in summer; and these odious insects, each of them as big as a Dunstable lark, hardly gave me any rest while I sat at dinner, with their continual humming and buzzing about mine ears.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

"Lounging and larking doesn't pay," observed Jo, shaking her head.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

And, to show the sharpness of their sight towards objects that are near, I have been much pleased with observing a cook pulling a lark, which was not so large as a common fly; and a young girl threading an invisible needle with invisible silk.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

I'm not a fashionable party and don't mean to be, but I do like harmless larks now and then, don't you?

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

She would craunch the wing of a lark, bones and all, between her teeth, although it were nine times as large as that of a full-grown turkey; and put a bit of bread into her mouth as big as two twelve-penny loaves.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

"Don't say 'larks!'" implored Amy, as a return snub for the 'samphire' correction.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

But in spite of their efforts to be as cheery as larks, the flutelike voices did not seem to chord as well as usual, and all felt out of tune.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

If it's fine, I'm going to pitch my tent in Longmeadow, and row up the whole crew to lunch and croquet—have a fire, make messes, gypsy fashion, and all sorts of larks.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

After this, the boys dispersed for a final lark, leaving Mrs. March and her daughters under the festival tree.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The first sound in the morning was her voice as she went about the house singing like a lark, and the last sound at night was the same cheery sound, for the girls never grew too old for that familiar lullaby.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)