fisticuffs
fis·ti·cuffs/ˈfɪs.tɪˌkəfs/noun
fisticuffs is spelled F-I-S-T-I-C-U-F-F-S: 10 letters and 3 syllables (fis·ti·cuffs). It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 66,686th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fisticuffs means “An impromptu fight with the fists, usually between only two people” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in fisticuffs?
| Letters | 10: F-I-S-T-I-C-U-F-F-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: fis·ti·cuffs |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 66,686th 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 fisticuffs?
Fisticuffs appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 66,686th 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 fisticuffs?
- UK /ˈfɪs.tɪ.kʌfs/
- US /ˈfɪs.tɪˌkəfs/
Fisticuffs has 3 syllables, split fis·ti·cuffs in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-fisticuffs.ogg, En-au-fisticuffs.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does fisticuffs mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
plural of fisticuff
- 2
informalAn impromptu fight with the fists, usually between only two people.
- 3
datedBare-knuckled boxing, a form of boxing done without boxing gloves or similar padding.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fisticuffs in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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.