chivvy
chiv·vy/ˈt͡ʃɪvi/verb, noun
chivvy is spelled C-H-I-V-V-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables (chiv·vy). It appears about once in every 68 million words in written English, the 258,950th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, chivvy means “To coerce or hurry along, as by persistent request” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in chivvy?
| Letters | 6: C-H-I-V-V-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: chiv·vy |
| In writing | about once in every 68 million words; the 258,950th 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 chivvy?
Chivvy appears about once in every 68 million words in written English, the 258,950th 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 chivvy?
- US /ˈt͡ʃɪvi/
Chivvy has 2 syllables, split chiv·vy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-chivvy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of chivvy
- chivvies present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- chivvying participle, present
- chivvied participle, past
- chivy
- chevy
- shivvy
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does chivvy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
UKTo coerce or hurry along, as by persistent request.
- 2
UKTo subject to harassment or verbal abuse.
- 3
UKTo sneak up on or rapidly approach.
- 4
UKTo pursue as in a hunt.
to chivvy the fox
noun
- 1
UKSomething that encourages one to act; a goad, a spur.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does chivvy come from?
From chivy, chevy (“to chase; to race, scamper”), from chivy, chevy (“a chase, hunt, pursuit”), probably from the title of The Ballad of Chevy Chase, first published in The Complaynt of Scotland (1549); the ballad is about a hunt taking place on a chase (“large country estate where game may be hunted”) in the Cheviot Hills between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders, and is thought to allude to the Battle of Otterburn in 1388.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).