cater-corner
/ˈkætəˌkɔɹnɚ/adjective, adverb
cater-corner is spelled C-A-T-E-R-C-O-R-N-E-R: 11 letters. As an adjective, cater-corner means “At a diagonal to another; of four corners, those diagonal to another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cater-corner?
| Letters | 11: C-A-T-E-R-C-O-R-N-E-R |
|---|---|
| In writing | a phrase: the frequency list counts single words |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you pronounce cater-corner?
- UK /ˈkatəˌkɔːnə/
- UK /ˈkeɪtəˌkɔːnə/
- US /ˈkætəˌkɔɹnɚ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cater-corner.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with cater-corner
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: cater-cornered, kitty-corner.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of cater-corner
- catacorner
- catercorner
- catty-corner
- kitty-corner
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cater-corner mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
CanadaUSAt a diagonal to another; of four corners, those diagonal to another.
The Empire State Building and the old Altman's Department store are catercorner, at Fifth Avenue and East 34th Street, with the ESB at the southwest, and Altman's at the northeast.
- 2
UKobsoleteUneven, not square, as mislaid stones or people with a limping gait.
adverb
- 1
CanadaUSDiagonally across from.
Altman's is sited catercorner to the ESB.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cater-corner in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense diagonally across:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | schräg gegenüber |
| Spanish | en contraesquina |
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 cater-corner come from?
Presumably a clipped form of cater-cornered, from cater + cornered, q.v., although catty-cornered is attested earlier (1838).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).