What does jack mean?
Word: Jack
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Jack means a tool that lifts something heavy, such as a car, a little way off the ground. A jack is also a playing card with a picture of a young man on it.
How do you spell jack?
Syllables: jack
Tricky part: The k sound at the end is written with two letters, ck. Children often write only a k or only a c.
Watch out for: jak, jac
Memory tip: Picture the c and the k as two hands working the jack together: one letter alone is not enough to lift the car.
Idioms and Phrases
- jack of all trades: a person who can do many different kinds of work Example: "Our watchman is a jack of all trades: he mends taps, paints walls and fixes cycles."
Jack in a sentence
Example 1: Uncle keeps a jack in the boot of his car.
Example 2: The mechanic pushed the jack under the van.
Example 3: This big jack can lift a heavy tractor.
Fun Fact
Jackfruit did not get its name from the English word jack. The name came through Portuguese jaca from chakka, the Malayalam word for the fruit.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
akjc
a) jakc
b) cjak
c) jcak
d) jack
Show answer
d) jack. Begin with j and finish with the two letters that make the k sound together.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letter to form a word:
_ack
a) g
b) d
c) j
d) z
Show answer
c) j. The first sound is the one at the start of jam and jug.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Ravi picked the jeck of hearts from the pack.
a) jeck
b) picked
c) hearts
d) Ravi
Show answer
a) jeck. The vowel in jack is the same one you hear in cat and bag.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) pensil
b) jack
c) window
d) garden
Show answer
a) pensil. Pencil has a soft c in the middle, as in city.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Papa's car gets a flat tyre on the way to Agra. Why does he take out the jack?
a) to wash the car windows
b) to lock all the doors
c) to put on the spare wheel
d) to fill up the petrol tank
Show answer
c) to put on the spare wheel
2. In a pack of cards, the jack comes just after which card?
a) the queen
b) the two
c) the king
d) the ten
Show answer
d) the ten
