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The noun ilk comes from the Old English pronoun ilca by way of a pronoun ilk that is still in use, but not in most modern English dialects. That ilk is synonymous with same, and persists chiefly in Scotland where it's used in the phrase "of that ilk," meaning "of the same place, territorial designation, or name." It is generally used in reference to the names of land-owning families and their eponymous estates, as in "the Grants of that ilk," which means "the Grants of Grant." In the late 1700s, the Scots phrase extended to mean "of that kind or sort," a usage that found its way into modern English.
Examples of ilk in a Sentence
Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 16 May 2025
Musk and his ilk see this the pathway to civilizational wrack and ruin.
—Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
Look at guys like Brock Lesnar and one of Cobb’s Olympic contemporaries, Yoel Romero, for proof that elite athletes of this ilk age differently than most.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 10 May 2025
Even as Muir’s views and those of his ilk have receded, exclusion in the environmentalism movement has persisted.
—Jerel Ezell, Time, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ilk
Cite this Entry
“Ilk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ilk. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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