Dictionary

uncork en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ʌnˈkɔː(ɹ)k/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From un- + cork.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To open (a bottle or other container sealed with a cork or stopper) by removing the cork or stopper from.
   • uncork a bottle of wine
   • After Compiègne, André uncorked a bottle of his Vin Rosé which went down uncommonly well and we reached Aulnoye without further incident. 1961 March, ""Dalmore"", “Driving and firing modern French steam locomotives”, in Trains Illustrated, pages 150–151:
2. (transitive) To release.
   • The 11 September attacks uncorked a whirlwind of outlandish conspiracy theories. 2002, The Middle East, numbers 319-329, page 10:
   • In Chile in 2017, for example, historic rains uncorked a gargantuan landslide near a receding glacier. 2026 February 27, Paul Salopek, “Hazard Cascade”, in National Geographic:

Forms

Deriveds

uncorkable · uncorker

Translations (20)

nrf dêbouchi (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · sv korka upp (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · fi riuhtaista (to make a strong throw) · fi päästää valloilleen (to release a force) · nl ontkurken (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · de entkorken (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · ro destupa (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · uk відкорко́вувати (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · ru отку́поривать (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · ru отку́порить (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · uk відкоркува́ти (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · et malŝtopi (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · fi korkata (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · sk odzátkovať (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · es descorchar (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · bg отпушвам (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · fr déboucher (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · pt desarrolhar (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · it stappare (to open by removing the cork or stopper from) · rup distup (to open by removing the cork or stopper from)