Meaning & use

rook

noun·Academic

A chess piece that moves in straight horizontal or vertical lines, shaped like a small castle tower.

See it in a sentence

She moved her rook across the board to capture her opponent's undefended bishop.

A noisy rook, a type of black crow, landed on the chimney and cawed loudly.

A note on using this word

Rook also names a large black European crow and, as an informal verb, means to cheat someone out of money.

Words with a similar meaning

This term is best learned through its definition and examples.

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Another way to use it

2. noun

A large, gregarious black bird of the crow family, common across Europe.

A flock of rooks circled noisily above the bare winter trees near the farmhouse.

3. verb

To cheat or swindle someone, especially over money, in an informal or dated sense.

The tourist realized too late that the street vendor had rooked him on the price.

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