I. fork 1 S3 /fɔːk $ fɔːrk/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: forca , from Latin furca ]
1 . a tool you use for picking up and eating food, with a handle and three or four points:
Put the knives and forks on the table.
2 . a garden tool used for digging, with a handle and three or four points ⇨ ↑ pitchfork 1
3 . a place where a road, river, or tree divides into two parts, or one of the parts it divides into:
the north fork of the Sacramento river
Take the left fork then go straight on.
4 . fork of lightning a sudden flash of ↑ lightning with two or more lines of light
5 . one of the two metal bars between which the front wheel of a bicycle or ↑ motorcycle is fixed ⇨ ↑ tuning fork
II. fork 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . ( also fork off ) [intransitive] if a road, river etc forks, it divides into two parts ⇨ divide , split :
The path forked off in two directions.
2 . fork (off) left/right to go left or right when a road divides into two parts SYN turn :
Fork left at the bottom of the hill.
3 . [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to put food into your mouth or onto a plate using a fork
fork something into/onto etc something
He forked some bacon into his mouth.
4 . [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to put ↑ manure into soil or to move soil around using a large garden fork
fork something in/over etc
In November, the soil should be forked over.
fork out (something) phrasal verb informal
to spend a lot of money on something, not because you want to but because you have to
fork out (something) for/on
I had to fork out £600 on my car when I had it serviced.
We don’t want to have to fork out for an expensive meal.
fork something ↔ over phrasal verb especially American English informal
to give money to someone or something, or spend money on something:
The arena won’t be finished until private donors fork over more money.