forking

verb

present participle of fork
as in parting
to go or move in different directions from a central point the road forks up ahead and you'll want to take the right fork

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of forking These are the primary look-alike for this type of edible mushroom, and are recognizable by their true gills rather than forking folds and an orange color that gradually gets darker toward the center of the cap. — Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 6 Aug. 2026 Working families are forking over a fortune at the gas pump and in the grocery aisle. — Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 15 July 2026 Someone who’s paying a fortune, and therefore expects super-human service in exchange for six-figure annual dues or forking over $4,000 per night for a room? — Hannah Seligson, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026 Critics say the considerable costs have put pressure on AI to deliver stratospheric profits, but there is little evidence to suggest businesses or everyday users will get enough value to warrant forking over a mountain of cash. — Max Zahn, ABC News, 23 June 2026 In one video clip, an elderly couple could be seen forking out the remnants of their flat, where the window facade was completely shattered. — Helen Regan, CNN Money, 2 June 2026 However, every day the Treasury is still forking out billions of dollars to manage existing service payments to lenders. — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 11 May 2026 The media and entertainment business has been forking over hefty sums to a wide range of leaders. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 27 Apr. 2026 The Bulls couldn’t control the ball, forking over 20 turnovers. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forking
  1. parting
  2. diverging
  3. separating
  4. dividing
  5. spreading
Verb
  • Guidry is a frequent guest instructor, watching bullpens, parting his wisdom, and answering any questions the pinstripers’ new generation of pitchers may have.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Out of that conversation grew my novel The Undead, which is, in some ways, a parting love letter to Moscow.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of parting
Verb
  • Yet the diverging political and regulatory attention paid to the two industries makes increasingly little sense, given the bond market’s growing primacy in the financial system, and its ability to also cause mayhem.
    — Robin Wigglesworth, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Directing a microdrama and directing a feature-length film are very different tasks, typically diverging in budgets, schedules and expectations for a viewer’s attention span.
    — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of diverging
Verb
  • Life opened like a zipper, separating them painfully at first, notch by notch, then faster, wider, until the garment lay split in two.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The new factory trades Farley said the line separating skilled trades from engineering is increasingly hard to see inside newer auto plants.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of separating
Verb
  • Yet, even presuming that the government could beat back Native powers, intelligently dividing that unseen area into plots would require understanding its geography, soil, and waterways.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • But for now the war rages on, dividing some communities in Ukraine through Russian propaganda videos.
    — Yasmin Vossoughian, NBC news, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of dividing
Verb
  • Retired auto worker Chris Vitale doesn’t give credence to such misinformation spreading online.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Researchers recreated this underlying dynamics in a controllable quantum system and found that string breaking can begin at the edges before spreading inward.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of spreading

Browse Nearby Words

for keeps
forking
forking (over, out, or up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Forking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forking. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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