backscratcher
noun
backscratcher is spelled B-A-C-K-S-C-R-A-T-C-H-E-R: 13 letters. It appears about once in every 66 million words in written English, the 255,765th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, backscratcher means “A long slender rod with a rake-like device on one end, sometimes in the form of a human hand, designed to let a person scratch their own back” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of backscratcher is backscratchers.
How many letters and syllables are in backscratcher?
| Letters | 13: B-A-C-K-S-C-R-A-T-C-H-E-R |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 66 million words; the 255,765th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is backscratcher?
Backscratcher appears about once in every 66 million words in written English, the 255,765th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce backscratcher?
- US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-backscratcher.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of backscratcher
- backscratchers plural
- back scratcher
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does backscratcher mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A long slender rod with a rake-like device on one end, sometimes in the form of a human hand, designed to let a person scratch their own back.
- 2
A participant in corruption, such as a briber or pay-to-play participant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Backscratcher in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense rod for scratching one's own back:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gratte-dos |
| German | Rückenkratzer |
| Portuguese | coça-costas |
| Spanish | rascaespalda, rascador de espaldas |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does backscratcher come from?
From back + scratcher; also, by surface analysis, backscratch + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).