What does yark mean?
Yark is an informal verb meaning to vomit or throw up. It is blunt, bodily, and generally unsuitable for formal writing, although it can be useful in vivid narrative when a speaker wants to convey the suddenness or unpleasantness of nausea. The word appears in both British and North American English, usually in contexts involving illness, alcohol, seasickness, or a violent reaction to food. In its straightforward use, the subject performs the act of vomiting: a passenger may yark during a rough crossing, a child may yark after eating unsuitable food, or someone may complain that the thought of a particular dish makes them want to yark. The expression “want to yark” can also be used humorously or as an exaggeration for feeling ill. Compared with the fuller phrase “throw up,” yark is compact and slightly comic, making it memorable in conversation but less appropriate for medical descriptions, formal reporting, or sensitive accounts of illness. It is best understood as informal vocabulary rather than a neutral clinical term.
verbTo vomit; to throw up. It can also mean to feel the urge to vomit.
- To vomit or throw up.
- To experience nausea and feel the urge to vomit.
"The rough crossing made several passengers yark."
"The child looked pale and then suddenly yarked."
"She said the smell of the cheese made her want to yark."
Sometimes the shortest way to say “throw up” is four letters: yark.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of yark
The familiar sense of yark meaning to vomit is recorded in earlier English, while the word’s ultimate origin is uncertain. Its relationship to forms now treated as separate words is also unclear, so no cognate set is supplied here.
Related word forms
How yark is actually used
Informal and somewhat blunt. It is common in conversation but unsuitable for formal writing or clinical descriptions of illness.