cocky
/ˈkɑki/adjective, noun, verb
cocky is spelled C-O-C-K-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, cocky means “Overly confident; arrogant and boastful” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cocky?
| Letters | 5: C-O-C-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cocky?
Cocky appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd 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 cocky?
- UK /ˈkɒki/
- British /ˈkɔkɪj/
- US /ˈkɑki/
Cocky has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-cocky.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with cocky
Also written: cockatoo farmer.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with cocky?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cocky from its last stressed vowel (/ɑki/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cocky
- cockier comparative
- cockiest superlative
- cockey
- cockie
- cockies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- cockying participle, present
- cockied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cocky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Overly confident; arrogant and boastful.
noun
- 1
AustraliainformalA familiar name for a cockatoo.
- 2
AustraliainformalClipping of cockatoo farmer (“small-scale farmer”); (by extension) any farmer or owner of rural land.
- 3
IrelandUKcolloquialdatedUsed as a term of endearment, originally for a person of either sex, but later primarily for a man.
verb
- 1
AustraliainformalTo operate a small-scale farm.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cocky in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense overly confident:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | arrogant, suffisant |
| German | arrogant, frech |
| Portuguese | arrogante, pretensioso |
| Spanish | arrogante, pedante, chulo, creído, engreído, petulante |
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 cocky come from?
From cock (“male domestic chicken”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense of ‘having the quality of’).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).