nark

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈnärk 

British

: stool pigeon sense 1

nark

2 of 3

noun (2)

less common spelling of narc

slang

: a person (such as a government agent) who investigates narcotics crimes : narco

an undercover narc

nark

3 of 3

verb

narked; narking; narks

transitive verb

British

: irritate, annoy

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• betrayer
• canary [slang]
• deep throat
• fink
• informant
• informer
• rat
• rat fink
• snitch
• snitcher
• squealer
• stool pigeon
• stoolie
• talebearer
• tattler
• tattletale
• telltale
• whistle-blower

Verb

• aggravate
• annoy
• bother
• bug
• burn (up)
• chafe
• eat
• exasperate
• frost
• gall
• get
• grate
• gripe
• hack (off)
• irk
• irritate
• itch
• nettle
• peeve
• persecute
• pique
• put out
• rasp
• rile
• ruffle
• spite
• vex

Examples of nark in a Sentence

Noun (1)

he began to suspect that there was a nark in his organization who was tipping off Scotland Yard

Verb

during the war some of the British were narked by their American allies, who were perceived as arrogant

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

As home secretary, Theresa May narked cops by lecturing them in public and cutting back on their powers to stop and search passers-by. —The Economist, 7 Nov. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

perhaps from Romani nak nose

Verb

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1859, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1888, in the meaning defined above