brig
/bɹɪɡ/noun, verb
brig is spelled B-R-I-G: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, brig means “A two-masted vessel, square-rigged on both foremast and mainmast” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of brig is brigs.
How many letters and syllables are in brig?
| Letters | 4: B-R-I-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 19,077th 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 brig?
Brig appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th 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 brig?
- /bɹɪɡ/
Brig has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-brig.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of brig
- brigs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- brigging participle, present
- brigged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does brig mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A two-masted vessel, square-rigged on both foremast and mainmast.
- 2
USA jail or guardhouse, especially in a naval military prison or jail on a ship, navy base, or (in fiction) spacecraft.
- 3
ScotlandBridge.
- 4
Brigadier.
verb
- 1
USdatedTo merely pretend to be occupied, to lollygag.
- 2
USdatedTo jail, to confine into the guardhouse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Brig in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | brigantin , cachot |
| German | Brigg , Arrestzelle, Militärgefängnis |
| Portuguese | brigue, brigantim |
| Spanish | bergantín , calabozo |
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 brig come from?
Abbreviated from brigantine, from Italian brigantino; in sense “jail”, from the use of such ships as prisons.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).