Meaning
To foul up; to be occupied with difficulty, tangle, or unpleasantness; to be broken.
Etymology
Origin: Unknown
Onomatopoeia or imitative. For “cough up” sense, compare hawk/hock (16th century), which are almost homophonous in non-rhotic accents. For “throw” sense, compare huck. The “foul up” sense is presumably influenced by bork (late 1990s), from broken. The “steal” sense may be related to hook, which has the same slang meaning.
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025.