Perk(s) not being understood

How is the word perk being used? Your teacher might have meant that the word is used with a different meaning in New Zealand. Otherwise, what she is saying makes no sense, because perk is widely used all over the English-speaking world.

Every native English speaker in the US knows what a perk is.

Perk, as in an advantage or upside?

Meaning what? Perks as in some kind of work benefit is pretty widespread. If it means something else, like short for "percolate" it might be a different story.

Perk is used in the Eastern US.

Your teacher is wrong. Perk, both the word and usage, is fairly common wherever you go.

Complete nonsense. It's widely used and understood across the anglosphere

How would you define the word?  Perk exists in American English.  It can be a noun meaning a benefit or a verb meaning to cheer up.

As someone who speaks native NZ English I know no usage of perk that isn't common across the entire anglosphere

Work perks are also a major plot point for the hit show Severance.

Very common in US English, used as you describe. Shortened form of the more formal (but less common) “perquisites.”

In the context of work, it depends how you're using it. For me, "work perks" would be small things (free drinks or snacks, a pool table in the break room, or an employee discount). If you're talking large things (health/dental/visual plans, 401k matching, vacation time, life insurance), we call those "benefits" and those are considered to be a part of your compensation package.

I forgot to add that she is not a native speaker whatsoever.

Another use, aside from the work context, is to say that someone's ears perked up, because someone said some information that really got their attention. Then there's the adjective "perky," meaning a cheerful attitude or personality. It can also be a sexual descriptor.

Perk is used all over English. It's a very common term in gaming and it's common to call positive aspects of your job that aren't related to compensation "perks." At least in the US, you would use "benefits" in a work environment to mean anything related to compensation outside of your salary or wage. Salary is your yearly pay at a professional job, while wage is hourly pay at something like a restaurant or store. Benefits, then, are other compensation things that aren't just money, such as health insurance, a vacation package, or maternity leave. Perks go beyond that to mean good things about a job that isn't related to compensation, such as having good coworkers and an understanding boss, or being able to be a positive force in your community and help people in things like medical, police, firefighter, or school jobs.

I haven’t seen anyone else mention it, but perk in also a very common word in games, especially video games and table-top role-playing games. For example, when you level up in the video game, Skyrim, you get a point that you spend on a “perk”. You can get a perk that makes you faster, or that makes your attack stronger, stuff like that.

“Perk” is short for “perquisite,” (see https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perquisite) and is universally understood across the English-speaking world.

One commonly understood word with a uniquely New Zealand/Australian colloqiual usage is 'heaps' to mean 'a lot of' as in 'I've got heaps of time free'

Teacher is wrong. We use it all the time in Canada.

I feel like this is a misunderstanding. "Job perks" like healthcare and paid vacation the way that the USA does it are less common in some other countries. I'm in Australia, and things like healthcare and paid vacation are just the standard. The word "perk" is extremely common and easily understandable.

It’s a shortened form of the word ‘perquisite’, which IS an infrequently used word and one which probably most English speakers wouldn’t know. But ‘perk’ is widely used, usually to mean a side benefit of a job. It’s also used as a verb, ‘to perk up’, which means to become more cheerful. And an adjective, ‘perky’, meaning cheerful. I’m not sure whether this use is related, it might just be one of the language’s many homonyms.

Your teacher is wrong. This word is understood and familiar across the majority of Englishes and is often heard in TV dramas and movies. Just google "jobs with the best perks" and hand a copy of the millions of articles and opinions about it from all over the world to your teacher.

"perks of the job" is a very common English expression.

“Perk” like a company car? Common in the U.K.

Your teacher is half right. It is only used in a restricted area. That area is the entire English-speaking world.

I think your teacher is confused - in the UK we would tend to say "work benefits" or "perks of the job" but not "work perks" - but I don't know a single person that wouldn't know what you meant if you did say "work perks" and it certainly wouldn't read as bad English.

Brit here. "Perks of a job" would be understood, but not generally used after the word "work". I'd say "work benefits" instead. You'd still be understood though, and it's certainly not a word limited to NZ.

Perk is in common usage in the UK. Perk is a contraction of perquisite, which had a defined legal meaning when used in employment contracts, for example.

Perk universally understood in the UK. Usually "job perk" but if you just said perks or perks of the job this would also be almost universally understood. Usually a benefit (sometimes tangible, sometimes not so tangible) that is often not contractual or explicitly stated. * Nice office environment * Big comfortable office chairs * Office is close to public transport links * Multiple restaurants in the building for lunch options * Rooftop terrace * Flexible desk policy * Free annual public transport pass Those are some of the things my company lists as perks, you can see a mix of solid tangible things and some that are less specific. You could be fussy and say the transport pass is a benefit rather than a perk, but that would be splitting hairs really.

Completely common, and I don't know another word that means precisely the same thing.

per·qui·site/ˈpərkwəzət/*noun/*formal * a thing regarded as a special right or [privilege](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=c59b6cae3955ab0c&rlz=1C1UEAD_enCA1053CA1054&sxsrf=AHTn8zp24_5Av7WaY5oHX1VFjoWmASVMnw:1747397513187&q=privilege&si=APYL9bsF-Mq-fXaAyJcIV7GbwI1quQIoeo_RkHxhFuXXhxpye0oCJViktyReO4b_GEzPfGfVWgAQtzDlKsm0LMTg6xcz7WBR-9agzpmehCAYJzkqJo_rS8U%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiiibiA-6eNAxV-lYkEHaTiKm0QyecJegQIPhAU) enjoyed as a result of one's position.noun: **perquisite**; plural noun: **perquisites**"the wife of a president has all the perquisites of stardom" * historical - a thing that has served its primary use and is then given to a [subordinate](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=c59b6cae3955ab0c&rlz=1C1UEAD_enCA1053CA1054&sxsrf=AHTn8zp24_5Av7WaY5oHX1VFjoWmASVMnw:1747397513187&q=subordinate&si=APYL9btEN2SiQ9h4o5Ckf6vYFXRYQ9Xp76cXP5HgW_tQc1HT-hTFWCF4pEBBDlw5432PR2gHcgV7Rgm0E7_yMrHfx1Mck4_RJMdaPM8Y5DPhsXSvr2Kcbmk%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiiibiA-6eNAxV-lYkEHaTiKm0QyecJegQIPhAX) or employee as a [customary](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=c59b6cae3955ab0c&rlz=1C1UEAD_enCA1053CA1054&sxsrf=AHTn8zp24_5Av7WaY5oHX1VFjoWmASVMnw:1747397513187&q=customary&si=APYL9bsF-Mq-fXaAyJcIV7GbwI1q09KLbvxfk2gbZWCsRiFyt4G_qU_oQ8gXxpiVyrs_1k6H3cXClpI2qhi8jXv6vDv8Lcv0AEEZi5oFIU7RoPhekriQRyY%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiiibiA-6eNAxV-lYkEHaTiKm0QyecJegQIPhAY) right.

The term “perk” is very common in American English, particularly in reference to perquisites of one’s job. These would be distinct from non-monetary compensation (e.g., insurance) which would formally be termed “benefits”, or informally “bennies”. Health insurance and dental coverage would be benefits. Free coffee, casual dress, and discounts on mobile phone service would be perks.

It's a slang term that's fairly specific to the world of office work, and not something that everyone would understand, but it is very widely used.

Commonly used in Australia

It depends on the context. Talking about the "perks of the job" is common in the UK, for example.

Perk is a shortened version of the old fashioned word [perquisite](https://g.co/kgs/X4kcqvU)

There's also perq, short for perquisite, often spelled perk. It means a benefit gained by a exclusive group, as in, "One of the perqs of working here is free lunch."

“Perks” is widely used in the parts of the U.S. that I’m familiar with. A comment: this is pedantic! —Comprehended < understood. — Ubiquitous < commonly used

I'd say that the word "perk" is short for, perquisite, is quite rare. Perk itself is very common. Other commenters have elaborated on the distinction between a "work benefit" and a "work perk", and I agree with those completely.

I wouldn't hesitate to say that the word "perk" in relation to work advantages etc. is ubiquitous across all English speaking countries. It certainly is in UK and USA. "Perks of the job". Correct me if I'm wrong though.

Fun fact: it’s a shortening of the word perquisite so logically it should probably be spelled ‘perq’ but the spelling ‘perk’ has stuck and perk is more common than the original word now. Edit: Even funner fact: The three meanings of perk have different etymologies. The curtains perk up the room. Free snacks are a perk of this job. The coffee is perking and will be ready soon. These words are unrelated.

It's common everywhere, though it's sometimes spelled "perqs," as it's short for "perquisiites."

Not a native but "job perks" (US) is common, so is "perk" on its own. I've never seen "work perk" And perk would be a minor benefit / cool thing you have at your office or you can do because of your job For example, "one of the perks you get working in this place is trying all the new products before they hit the shelves"

Common all over the English speaking world, your teacher is talking out of her arse. Donkey even says it in Shrek lol - "That wasn't in the job description!" "Maybe it's a perk?"

One of the required books we had to read for 10th grade English was the very famous book "Perks of Being A Wallflower" which has an even more famous movie with Emma Watson as the female love interest. I would guess that a vast majority of Americans would consider "perk(s)" to be a completely common, normal word to use and hear in everyday conversation.

"Perks of the job" is a common phrase for me (BrEng), more often than not I'll use it sarcastically to highlight the negative parts of someone's job, but it's also used to mean the genuine benefits of working somewhere, e.g. "hybrid working is one of the perks of my job". Perks can also be associated with loyalty cards or membership schemes, like "a perk of private healthcare is a discount on gym memberships"

Very common in my context - British English. Your teacher should get out more.

It's definitely known in US English - in three senses! A coffee percolator perks, where I grew up you have to do a perk test on soil to check that it drains well, and a perk is short for a perquisite - a benefit of a job or a role.

Completely normal in Australia.

Perk as in an advantage of something? I use that word very frequently, as do a lot of people where I am (the uk)

Unless it has some secret kiwi meaning, no. It's common enough that everyone looking for a new job asks about the salary **and** perks.

Very common in US English, in the sense of benefits or privileges that accompany something (and thus not quite synonymous with “advantage”). From “perquisite”: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/perquisite

Perhaps what was meant is that people may not know what *perquisite* means. That's the 'proper' word and is about as well used these days as *perambulator*, a 'pram'.