fritter
/ˈfɹɪtɚ/noun, verb
fritter is spelled F-R-I-T-T-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fritter means “Synonym of pancake, a portion of batter fried on a pan” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of fritter is fritters.
How many letters and syllables are in fritter?
| Letters | 7: F-R-I-T-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,884th 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 fritter?
Fritter appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th 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 fritter?
- UK /ˈfɹɪtə(ɹ)/
- US /ˈfɹɪtɚ/
- US [ˈfɹɪɾɚ]
Fritter 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-fritter.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-fritter.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with fritter?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as fritter from its last stressed vowel (/ɪtəɹ/):
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 fritter
- fritters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- frittering participle, present
- frittered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fritter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Synonym of pancake, a portion of batter fried on a pan.
- 2
A dish made by coating various other foods in batter and frying or deep-frying them together, typically in small portions.
- 3
A fragment; a shred; a small piece.
verb
- 1
To squander or waste time, money, or other resources; e.g. occupy oneself idly or without clear purpose, to tinker with an unimportant part of a project, to dally, sometimes as a form of procrastination.
I was supposed to do work, but I frittered around all afternoon.
- 2
To sinter.
- 3
To cut (meat etc.) into small pieces for frying.
- 4
To break into small pieces or fragments.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fritter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | beignet |
| German | Küchle, im Teigmantel, Bratling , prötteln, sich verzetteln, frickeln |
| Spanish | malgastar energías |
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 fritter come from?
Inherited from Middle English fryture, from Middle French friture, from Old French friture, from Vulgar Latin *frīctūra, from Latin frīgō (“to fry”); compare fry. For the development of Middle English /iu̯r(ə)/ into /ə(ɹ)/, compare armour, batter, border, solder.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).