frisk
/fɹɪsk/noun, verb
frisk is spelled F-R-I-S-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, frisk means “A little playful skip or leap; a brisk and lively movement” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of frisk is frisks.
How many letters and syllables are in frisk?
| Letters | 5: F-R-I-S-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th 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 frisk?
Frisk appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th 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 frisk?
- /fɹɪsk/
Frisk has one syllable (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-frisk.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of frisk
- frisks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- frisking participle, present
- frisked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does frisk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A little playful skip or leap; a brisk and lively movement.
- 2
The act of frisking, of searching for something by feeling someone's body.
The customs officer gave me a frisk after I went through the metal detector.
verb
- 1
To frolic, gambol, skip, dance, leap.
- 2
To search (someone) by feeling their body and clothing.
The police frisked the suspiciously-acting individual and found a knife as well as a bag of marijuana.
- 3
To search (a place).
Furniture was tipped over and drawers pulled out. Someone had obviously frisked the joint before we arrived.
adjective
- 1
archaicLively; brisk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Frisk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | vivaracho , juguetear , cachear, palpar |
| German | scherzen , filzen |
| French | fouiller |
| Portuguese | revistar, apalpar |
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 frisk come from?
From Middle English frisk (“lively, frisky”), from Middle French frisque (“lively, jolly, blithe, fine, spruce, gay”), of Germanic origin, perhaps from Middle Dutch frisc (“fresh”) or Old High German frisc (“fresh”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *friskaz (“fresh”). Cognate with Icelandic frískur (“frisky, fresh”). Doublet of fresco and fresh. More at fresh.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).