Meaning & use
bloke
Last updated
UK/bləʊk/
US/bloʊk/
Meaning
nouncountableinformalBritishAustralian
A man, especially an ordinary, friendly one.
Grammar: Informal and countable; often used with a descriptive adjective: a decent bloke.
Patterns
- a bloke from somewhere
He is a nice bloke and everyone likes working with him.
Some bloke at the door was asking for you.
I met a bloke at the pub who knew my uncle.
Word forms
| plural | blokes |
|---|
Common combinations
- a decent bloke
- Our coach is a decent bloke.
- a good bloke
- Everyone says he's a good bloke.
- some bloke
- Some bloke called about the van.
- ordinary bloke
- He is just an ordinary bloke trying to get by.
- bloke next door
- The bloke next door lent me a ladder.
Synonyms and how they differ
- guy
- Guy is the American equivalent and also used in Britain, but bloke sounds distinctly British or Australian.
- chap
- Chap is slightly more polite and old-fashioned than bloke.
- fellow
- Fellow is more formal and older sounding than bloke.
- dude
- Dude is American slang and sounds younger and more casual.
Opposites
Word family
- blokey adjective
- typical of a stereotypically masculine group
- blokes noun
- plural of bloke
- blokeish adjective
- like a typical bloke
Commonly confused: bloke or block?
bloke vs block
Block has a different sound and meaning, such as a solid piece or a city street area.
Practice
In British English, a bloke is most likely to be...
Choose one answer.
Bloke is an informal word for a man. The other options have no connection to the word.
Make it your own
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