: any of a family (Alaudidae) of chiefly Old World ground-dwelling songbirds that are usually brownish in color
especially
: skylark compare meadowlark
: a source of or quest for amusement or adventure
thought life was a lark
entered the race on a lark
larked; larking; larks
: to engage in harmless fun or mischief
—often used with about
larker
noun
Synonyms
Examples of lark in a Sentence
Verb
we would rather lark about in the summer than get part-time jobs
Recent Examples on the Web
M.d. Rodrigues, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2024
Zoologists proposed splitting two species of sub-Saharan larks into seven, and three subspecies of soft-furred southeast Asian hedgehogs were elevated to the rank of species.
—Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
According to a new paper published in Genome Biology and Evolution, genetic material from the Neanderthals may be actively influencing our modern circadian clocks, turning some of us into morning larks rather than night owls.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 20 Dec. 2023
But if this were all just a lark, the whole thing might collapse.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 31 May 2023
For California’s governor, who loves gamboling on a national stage, the whole evening was a lark.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023
Furthermore, young adults who are neither larks nor owls show less variability in performance over the day.
—Cindi May, Discover Magazine, 10 Nov. 2023
For the past few years, Guy Ritchie and his filmmaking collaborators have alternated between lightweight larks and hefty tales of masculinity.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2023
Musicians have costumed themselves into robots for a long time—first as a sci-fi lark, with the vocoder in the 1970s, and then for all sorts of expressive chaos, with Auto-Tune in the 21st century.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2023
Noun
For David, acting seems to be both vocation and lark, and his gales of laughter blow back the curtain between the two.
—M.d. Rodrigues, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2024
Zoologists proposed splitting two species of sub-Saharan larks into seven, and three subspecies of soft-furred southeast Asian hedgehogs were elevated to the rank of species.
—Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
According to a new paper published in Genome Biology and Evolution, genetic material from the Neanderthals may be actively influencing our modern circadian clocks, turning some of us into morning larks rather than night owls.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 20 Dec. 2023
But if this were all just a lark, the whole thing might collapse.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 31 May 2023
For California’s governor, who loves gamboling on a national stage, the whole evening was a lark.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023
Furthermore, young adults who are neither larks nor owls show less variability in performance over the day.
—Cindi May, Discover Magazine, 10 Nov. 2023
For the past few years, Guy Ritchie and his filmmaking collaborators have alternated between lightweight larks and hefty tales of masculinity.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2023
Musicians have costumed themselves into robots for a long time—first as a sci-fi lark, with the vocoder in the 1970s, and then for all sorts of expressive chaos, with Auto-Tune in the 21st century.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lark.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near lark
Cite this Entry
“Lark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lark. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lark
1 of 2 noun
: any of numerous Old World singing birds that are usually brownish in color and live on the ground
especially
: skylark entry 1 compare meadowlark
lark
2 of 2 noun
: something done for fun or adventure
lark
verb
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