verb
spruik
Spruik (verb) means (informal) To talk about something in order to promote it to other people.
verb
1
(informal) To talk about something in order to promote it to other people.
"There was no spruiking or showmanship, no flash shirts or ten-gallon hats."
— Louis Esson, Louis Esson and the Australian Theatre (1948)
"It can be a hard job, constantly on your feet, trying to think of things to say to lure people into the store you are spruiking for."
— Kylie Ofiu, Work as a spruiker (2011)
Vocabulary Flow
Build your vocabulary from words like spruik.
Vocabulary Flow serves the next word, and the next — meaning, pronunciation and an example each time. Practice at your level, or learn English in your own language.
Start vocabulary practice
Etymology
Of unknown origin, likely Germanic. Compare Dutch spraak ("speech"), spreek ("speak"), spreuk ("saying") and sprook ("a story, fiction, tale, or false idea"). It was first recorded in the late 1890s and early 1900s, which points to a possible source in Afrikaans (i.e. brought back by soldiers returning from the Boer War). Apart from a few early uses of sprook, the spelling has stayed fixed since the word entered the language, and the uncommon ⟨ui⟩ digraph is further evidence of an Afrikaans or Dutch origin.
Synonyms
View more →Related words
Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of spruik?
"spruik" (verb) means (informal) To talk about something in order to promote it to other people.
What is another word for spruik?
Other words for "spruik" include pitch, tout, hawk.
