Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Perk
Perk
(pẽrk)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Perked
(pẽrkt)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Perking
.] [Cf. W.
percu
to trim, to make smart.] To make trim or smart; to straighten up; to erect; to make a jaunty or saucy display of;
as, to
perk
the ears; to perk
up one’s head. Cowper.
Sherburne.
Perk
,Verb.
I.
1.
To exalt one's self; to bear one's self loftily.
“To perk over them.” Barrow.
To perk it
, to carry one's self proudly or saucily.
Pope.
Perk
,Adj.
Smart; trim; spruce; jaunty; vain.
“Perk as a peacock.” Spenser.
Perk
,Verb.
I.
To peer; to look inquisitively.
Dickens.
Webster 1828 Edition
Perk
PERK
,Adj.
PERK
,Verb.
I.
PERK
,Verb.
T.
Definition 2024
perk
perk
See also: pērk
English
Alternative forms
- perq (less common)
Noun
perk (plural perks)
- (informal) Perquisite.
- Free coffee is one of the perks of the job.
Translations
Etymology 2
From percolate (verb) and percolator (noun), by abbreviation.
Verb
perk (third-person singular simple present perks, present participle perking, simple past and past participle perked)
- (transitive) To make (coffee) in a percolator or a drip coffeemaker.
- I’ll perk some coffee.
- (intransitive) Of coffee: to be produced by heated water seeping (“percolating”) through coffee grounds.
- 1996, Lewis, Sherry, This Montana Home, Harlequin Books, page 288:
- While the coffee perked, she flipped idly through a gardening magazine and scanned an article on the war against aphids.
- The coffee is perking.
-
Noun
perk (plural perks)
- A percolator, particularly of coffee.
Etymology 3
The origin is uncertain.
Verb
perk (third-person singular simple present perks, present participle perking, simple past and past participle perked)
- To become more lively or enthusiastic.
- To exalt oneself; to bear oneself loftily.
- Barrow
- to perk over them
- Barrow
- To make trim or smart; to straighten up; to erect; to make a jaunty or saucy display of.
- to perk the ears; to perk up one's head
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Cowper to this entry?)
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Sherburne to this entry?)
Derived terms
Adjective
perk (comparative more perk, superlative most perk)
Etymology 4
The origin is uncertain.
Verb
perk (third-person singular simple present perks, present participle perking, simple past and past participle perked)
- (dated) To peer; to look inquisitively.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Charles Dickens to this entry?)
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɛrk/
- Rhymes: -ɛrk
Etymology
From Old Dutch *perrik, *parrik, from Proto-Germanic *parrukaz. Compare also park and German Pferch.
Noun
perk n (plural perken, diminutive perkje n)
- a delimited piece of ground, e.g. a flowerbed