crawfish
/ˈkɹɔˌfɪʃ/noun, verb
crawfish is spelled C-R-A-W-F-I-S-H: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, crawfish means “Any of various freshwater crustaceans: crayfish” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of crawfish is crawfishes.
How many letters and syllables are in crawfish?
| Letters | 8: C-R-A-W-F-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is crawfish?
Crawfish appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th 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 crawfish?
- /ˈkɹɔˌfɪʃ/
Crawfish 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-crawfish.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of crawfish
- crawfishes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- crawfishing participle, present
- crawfished participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does crawfish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USAny of various freshwater crustaceans: crayfish.
- 2
Any of various marine crustaceans, rock lobster; especially Jasus lalandii, the Cape crawfish.
- 3
CanadaQuebecderogatoryslangAn English-Canadian. Used in some corners of Quebec (including the Gaspé).
verb
- 1
To fish for crawfish.
- 2
colloquialTo backpedal, desert or withdraw (also used with out).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Crawfish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to backpedal:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | recular |
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 crawfish come from?
1620s, folk etymology (compare crawl) from Middle English crevis, from Old French crevice (“crab”) (French écrevisse), influenced by fish. Compare crayfish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).