brook and brooke are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. brook means “a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)”. brooke means “English lyric poet (1887-1915)”. brooke is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈbɹʊk/
1.n.a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)
“the creek dried up every summer”
2.v.put up with something or somebody unpleasant
“I cannot bear his constant criticism”
/ˈbɹʊk/
| brook | brooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɹʊk/ | /ˈbɹʊk/ |
| Said | bruuk | bruuk |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 5 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | noun |
| Senses | 2 | 1 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | creek | Rupert Brooke |
Full entry for brook · Full entry for brooke · More comparisons
1.n.English lyric poet (1887-1915)