crowbar
/ˈkɹoʊˌbɑɹ/noun, verb
crowbar is spelled C-R-O-W-B-A-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, crowbar means “An iron or steel bar, often with a flattened end which may also be hook-shaped, to be used as a lever to manually force things apart” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of crowbar is crowbars.
How many letters and syllables are in crowbar?
| Letters | 7: C-R-O-W-B-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,703rd 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 crowbar?
Crowbar appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd 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 crowbar?
- US /ˈkɹoʊˌbɑɹ/
Crowbar 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-crowbar.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of crowbar
- crowbars plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- crowbarring participle, present
- crowbarred participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does crowbar mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An iron or steel bar, often with a flattened end which may also be hook-shaped, to be used as a lever to manually force things apart.
- 2
An electrical circuit that prevents an overvoltage from causing damage.
- 3
A type of cocktail made with only Crown Royal whiskey and lemon lime soda.
verb
- 1
To force to move, usually with a crowbar; to prise.
He crowbarred the door open.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Crowbar in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense iron or steel bar used as a lever to manually force things apart:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pied-de-biche, pince-monseigneur |
| German | Brechstange, Brecheisen, Hebeeisen, Nageleisen, Kuhfuß, Geißfuß |
| Portuguese | pé de cabra |
| Spanish | pie de cabra, pata de cabra, palanqueta, barreta, palanca, diablo |
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 crowbar come from?
From crow (“crow (bird)" also "metal lever, crowbar”) + bar, probably because the forked end looks like a crow's foot.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).