frisk
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Frisking, of searching for something by feeling someone's body.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
friskIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfɹɪsk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The act of frisking, of searching for something by feeling someone's body.
The act of searching someone for concealed weapons or illegal drugs
A little playful skip or leap; a brisk and lively movement.
verb
transitive
To search (someone) by feeling their body and clothing.
transitive
To search (a place).
intransitive
To frolic, gambol, skip, dance, leap.
Search as for concealed weapons by running the hands rapidly over the clothing and through the pockets
“The police frisked everyone at the airport.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of frisking, of searching for something by feeling someone's body.
Used this way, frisk is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- gambol , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use frisk
- “The police frisked everyone at the airport.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: frisking
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “frisk” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.