hark Hear it!

hark Definition

hark (härk)

intransitive verb

Now Chiefly Literary to listen carefully: usually in the imperative, with the effect of an exclamation

Etymology: ME herkien (akin to Ger horchen) < ? OE *heorcian or < OE heorcnian: see hearken

transitive verb

Archaic to listen to; hear

hark Idioms

hark back

  1. to return to an earlier point so as to pick up the scent or trail again
  2. to go back in thought or speech; revert or be reminiscent of
hark Synonyms

hark

v.

harken, pay attention, give heed; see listen 1.

hark Usage Examples

Object

  • ye: And, hark ye, you will avoid debt, and bear in mind that your honor is a sacred thing.
  • back: The film is not a lesson about life in the 50s, but a harking back, aimed at people who remember those times.

Used with why or when

  • what: Hark what good sport is out of town to-day!

Modifying Another Word

  • back: The " Famous " bit in fact harks back to the sponsors of the 1981 event: Famous Grouse whiskey.
  • again: This again harks back to the key theme of data integration.
  • still: Indeed, some gutter level tabloids are still harking on about Fergie being pushed out this summer.
  • also: So I'm also harking back to an age of classic songwriting.
  • not: We are not harking back to some mythical bygone age of policing.
  • constantly: They ' constantly hark back to the golden age of their youth.

Preposition: in

  • way: Her harmonies are contemporary and here they seem to hark back in an ingenious way to plainchant.
hark Quotes

Hark! ah, the Nightingale! The tawny-throated! Hark! from that moonlit cedar what a burst! What triumph! harköwhat pain!

—Arnold, Matthew

Hark! how all the welkin rings, Glory to the King of kings. Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.

—Wesley, Charles

Browse dictionary entries near hark

  1. Haringey
  2. harijan
  3. haricot
  4. Hariana
  5. hari-kari
  6. Hargreaves
  7. harem pants
  8. harem
  9. harelip
  10. harebrained
  1. harken
  2. harl
  3. Harlan
  4. Harlem
  5. Harlem River
  6. Harlequin
  7. harlequin bug
  8. harlequin snake
  9. harlequinade
  10. harlot