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bork

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bork¹

  • /bɔːk/ UK
  • /boɹk/ US

Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

A reference to the unsuccessful 1987 United States Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork (1927–2012); first appeared in print that same year.

verb borks · borking · borked · Bork

  1. US, ambitransitive, derogatory, often To defeat a person's appointment or election, judicial nomination, etc., through a concerted attack on the person's character, background, and philosophy. In light of the current furor over trying to appoint a new Supreme Court justice, I would like to submit a new verb in the English language. Three forms would be "to bork," "borking," and "borked." This would describe the act of partisan political character assassination.

bork²

  • /bɔːk/ UK
  • /boɹk/ US

Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

Possibly derived from borken, a deliberate misspelling of the word broken used in ironic or humorous contexts; or from the usage described under “Etymology 1” above.

Alternatively, sourced from the Muppet's Swedish Chef, see Swedish Chef

verb borks · borking · borked · borken

  1. slang, transitive To misconfigure, break, or damage, especially a computer or other complex device. The first time I tried the test machine that I got, I borked the configuration pretty badly (I.e., I inverted the interfaces among other things).
  2. intransitive, slang To become broken or damaged, especially of a computer or other complex device. Sometimes Windows system files get messed up (the technical term is "borked"). In those cases, Microsoft has a program called Refresh that scans and fixes all the system files, without changing your settings, removing any installed programs, or blasting your data.

bork³

  • /bɔːk/ UK
  • /boɹk/ US

Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

From the species name of Pagothenia borchgrevinki.

noun borks

  1. informal The bald notothen or bald rockcod (Pagothenia borchgrevinki), a species of cod icefish (Nototheniidae) native to the Southern Ocean. Near the water surface, Mayflower hunted for larger prey in the form of "borks." Pagothenia borchgrevinki "bork," for short—are buggy-eyed, dark-spotted fish with a Mohawk ridge of fins along the top. They live among the ice crystals formed by the platelet ice, hiding just below the frozen surface o

bork⁴

  • /bɔːk/ UK
  • /boɹk/ US

Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

Mutation of bark.

noun borks

  1. Internet, humorous The sound that a dog makes. Understanding doggo memes requires a previous knowledge of doggo meme jargon, including words such as bamboozled (a word that basically signifies confusion in any context) and bork (for a dog’s bark).

verb borks · borking · borked

  1. Internet, humorous Of a dog, to bark. Dogs become “doggo”, “floofs” and “puppers” and they “bork” rather than bark.

bork⁵

  • /bɔːk/ UK
  • /boɹk/ US

Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

Perhaps from a blend of boink + pork.

verb borks · borking · borked

  1. slang, vulgar To boink; to have sex with. It was Oscar Wilde who remarked on the phenomenon of Life imitating Art . What with the tabloid Press, and Princess Di borking her riding instructor in a high-life, contemporary update of Lady Chatterley's Lover, we may soon not need fiction […]

bork⁶

  • /bɔːk/ UK
  • /boɹk/ US

Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

Onomatopoeic, representing the sound of vomiting. Possibly related to boak.

verb borks · borking · borked

  1. slang To retch or vomit. He tweeted: “Barf!! @BurgerKingUK thanks for [sic] Hygeine standards. How many hairs did I eat b4 realising?? Borked!!!”

Bork⁷

  • /bɔː(ɹ)k/

Sounds like bork · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k

proper noun

  1. A surname.

Bork⁸

  • /bɔː(ɹ)k/

Sounds like bork · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k

verb Borks · Borking · Borked · Borken

  1. Alternative letter-case form of bork That's the third nominee the Republicans have Borken this season.

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Cite this
MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX
@misc{bork_2026,
  title = {bork},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bork},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}