fork Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun cutlery used for serving and eating food
noun the act of branching out or dividing into branches
branching; forking; ramification.
noun the region of the angle formed by the junction of two branches
crotch.
- they took the south fork
- he climbed into the crotch of a tree
noun an agricultural tool used for lifting or digging; has a handle and metal prongs
noun the angle formed by the inner sides of the legs where they join the human trunk
crotch.
verb lift with a pitchfork
pitchfork.
- pitchfork hay
verb place under attack with one's own pieces, of two enemy pieces
verb divide into two or more branches so as to form a fork
ramify; furcate; branch; separate.
- The road forks
verb shape like a fork
- She forked her fingers

AS. forc, fr. L. furca. Cf. Fourch, Furcate.

An instrument consisting consisting of a handle with a shank terminating in two or more prongs or tines, which are usually of metal, parallel and slightly curved; -- used from piercing, holding, taking up, or pitching anything.
Anything furcate or like of a fork in shape, or furcate at the extremity; as, a tuning fork.
One of the parts into which anything is furcated or divided; a prong; a branch of a stream, a road, etc.; a barbed point, as of an arrow.
Let it fall . . . though the fork invade The region of my heart. Shak.

A thunderbolt with three forks. Addison.
The place where a division or a union occurs; the angle or opening between two branches or limbs; as, the fork of a river, a tree, or a road.
The gibbet. Obs. Bp. Butler.

imperfect & past participle Forked ; present participle & verbal noun Forking

To raise, or pitch with a fork, as hay; to dig or turn over with a fork, as the soil.
Forking the sheaves on the high-laden cart. Prof. Wilson.

G. Eliot.