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amok

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amok¹

  • /əˈmɒk/
  • /əˈmʌk/
  • /əˈmɒk/ Northern England
  • /əˈmʊk/ Northern England

Rhymes with -ɒk, -ʌk

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Portuguese amouco, from Malay amuk (“to go on a killing spree”). The term first appeared in English around the 16th century, associated with the people of Malaysia and Java, first described in the 1516 text The Book of Duarte Barbosa, which was translated to English by Henry E. J. Stanley.

adverb more amok · most amok · amuck · amock

  1. Out of control, especially when armed and dangerous.
  2. In a frenzy of violence, or on a killing spree; berserk. It is true, I […] might have run “amok” against society; but I preferred that society should run “amok” against me, it being the desperate party.

noun amoks · amuck · amock

  1. One who runs amok; in Malay and Moro/Philippine culture, one who attempts to kill many others, especially expecting that they will be killed themselves. One morning, as we were sitting at breakfast, Mr. Carter's servant informed us that there was an "Amok" in the village--in other words, that a man was "running a muck."
  2. The act of running amok. On the morning of the amok this person met him, and asked him to work at his boat “He replied that he could not, he was very much afflicted.”[…]The amok took place on the 8th, the trial on the 13th, and the execution on the 15th July,—all within eight days.

verb amoks · amoking · amoked · amuck · amock

  1. Synonym of run amok. The Rájá not listening to this language, again tried to kill Gumpar with a spear, and all his people assisted in thrusting and cutting at him; there was a great hubbub, and people outside of the fort were astonished to learn that there was amoking within it.

    Similar: run amok

amok²

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Khmer អាម៉ុក (ʼaamok, “to steam in banana leaves”).

noun

  1. uncountable A kind of Southeast Asian curry steamed in banana leaves native to Cambodia.

Translations

Every language

adv in a frenzy of violence, or on a killing spree; berserk

Españoldesenfrenado
Portuguêsamouco
DeutschAmok
Italianoall'impazzata
Русскийбе́шено béšeno
עבריתאמוק ámok

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Cite this
MLA

"amok." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/amok. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

amok. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/amok

Chicago

"amok." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/amok.

BibTeX
@misc{amok_2026,
  title = {amok},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/amok},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}