oak
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
A rich brown color, like that of oak wood.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ohkIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈoʊk
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
A rich brown color, like that of oak wood.
The hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
The outer (lockable) door of a set of rooms in a college or similar institution. (Often in the phrase sport one's oak.)
adjective
Having a rich brown color, like that of oak wood.
Made of oak wood or timber.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A rich brown color, like that of oak wood.
Used this way, oak 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
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use oak
- “Great oaks grow from little acorns.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Medium to large deciduous oak of central and eastern North America with ovoid acorns deeply immersed in large fringed cups.
Medium to large deciduous oak of central and eastern North America with ovoid acorns deeply immersed in large fringed cups.
Shrubby oak of southeastern United States usually forming dense thickets.
Large tree of Australasia.
Small deciduous tree of eastern and central United States having dark green lyrate pinnatifid leaves and tough moisture-resistant wood used especially for fence posts.
Medium to large deciduous tree of the eastern United States.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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
Keep learning “oak” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
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.