fry
/fɹaɪ/verb, noun
fry is spelled F-R-Y: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.8 times per million words in written English, the 8,417th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting FRY, the name). As a verb, fry means “To cook (something) in hot fat” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in fry?
| Letters | 3: F-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.8 times per million words; the 8,417th 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 fry?
Fry appears 7.8 times per million words in written English, the 8,417th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes FRY, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce fry?
- /fɹaɪ/
Fry 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: En-us-fry.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of fry
- fries present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- frying participle, present
- fried participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fry mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cook (something) in hot fat.
I am frying the eggs.
- 2
To cook in hot fat.
The eggs are frying.
- 3
obsoleteTo simmer; to boil.
- 4
colloquialTo suffer because of too much heat.
You'll fry if you go out in this sun with no sunblock on.
- 5
USslangTo execute, or be executed, by the electric chair.
He's guilty of murder: he's going to fry.
- 6
informalTo destroy (something, usually electronic), often with excessive heat, voltage, or current.
If you apply that much voltage, you'll fry the resistor.
- 7
slangTo entertain (a person) greatly; to make to laugh thoroughly.
This joke is absolutely frying me.
- 8
To make a brushwood drain.
noun
- 1
CanadaUSA long, thin fried piece of cut potato.
- 2
A long, thin fried piece of other foods.
halloumi fries
- 3
IrelandUKA meal of fried sausages, bacon, eggs, etc.
- 4
AustraliaThe liver of a lamb.
- 5
USA lamb or calf testicle.
- 6
archaiccolloquialA state of excitement.
to be in a fry
- 7
Young fish; fishlings.
- 8
UKOffspring; progeny; children; brood.
- 9
archaicA swarm, especially of something small.
a fry of children
- 10
UKThe spawn of frogs.
- 11
A kind of sieve.
- 12
A drain, usually made of brushwood.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fry in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | faire frire , frire , griller , frite , frai |
| German | braten , kochen , Fischbrut, Setzling , grillen |
| Portuguese | fritar , assar , frita , alevino |
| Spanish | freír , freírse , asarse , papas fritas, patatas fritas , alevín |
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 fry come from?
Inherited from Middle English fryen, borrowed from Old French frire, from Latin frīgō. Cognate with Ancient Greek φρύγω (phrúgō, “to roast, bake”), Sanskrit भृज्जति (bhṛjjati, “to roast, grill, fry”). Replaced native Middle English hirsten, from Old English hierstan (“to fry”). Related to bhurji, bhujia (“fried Indian snacks”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).