corky

C3O1R1K5Y4

adjective

Of wine, contaminated by a faulty or tainted cork.

“This wine smells a bit corky; get me another bottle.”

Similar
suberosesuberousecchymosiscontusioncorkedbad
OriginEnglish cork ← Middle English cork ← Middle Dutch curc →
Less commonScrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

corky1

adjectivecorky (comparative corkier, superlative corkiest)

comparative corkier · superlative corkiest

  1. Of wine, contaminated by a faulty or tainted cork.

    This wine smells a bit corky; get me another bottle.

  2. Consisting of, or like, cork; dry; shrivelled.

    Bind fast his corky arms.

    c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene vii]

    Synonyms: suberose, suberous

corky2

nouncorky (plural corkies)

plural corkies · alternative corkie

  1. AustraliaslangA deep bruise, usually on the leg or buttock, caused by a blow; a haematoma.

    Synonyms: ecchymosis, contusion

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveConsisting of, or like, cork; dry; shrivelled.

Similar
suberosesuberous

nounA deep bruise, usually on the leg or buttock, caused by a blow; a haematoma.

Similar
ecchymosiscontusion

More synonyms by meaning

adjective(of wine) tainted in flavor by a cork containing excess tannin

Similar
corkedbad
Also see
badcorkedcorklike

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

corky · adjective

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)ker-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kert-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kort-ek-s
  4. Latincortexder.?
  5. Latincortex
  6. Mozarabic*kórčo, *kórčeder.?
  7. Spanishcorcho
  8. Middle Dutchcurc
  9. Middle Englishcork
  10. Englishcork
  11. Englishcorky

From cork (“stopper”) + -y.

Full word history & related roots →

corky · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)ker-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kert-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kort-ek-s
  4. Latincortexder.?
  5. Latincortex
  6. Mozarabic*kórčo, *kórčeder.?
  7. Spanishcorcho
  8. Middle Dutchcurc
  9. Middle Englishcork
  10. Englishcork
  11. Englishcorky

From cork (“injure by a blow”) + -y.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish korkkivikainen
  • korkkivikainenof wine, contaminated by cork
French bouchonné
  • bouchonnéof wine, contaminated by cork

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with corky

Yorkieporkyforky
All rhymes →

Anagrams

rocky
Cite this entry
APA

corky. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corky

MLA

“corky.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corky. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “corky,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corky.

Source: corky on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.