gerbil
/ˈd͡ʒɝbl̩/noun, verb
gerbil is spelled G-E-R-B-I-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, gerbil means “A member of one of several species of small, jumping, mouselike rodents of the subfamily Gerbillinae, native to Africa, India, and Southern Europe” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gerbil is gerbils.
How many letters and syllables are in gerbil?
| Letters | 6: G-E-R-B-I-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,788th 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 gerbil?
Gerbil appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th 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 gerbil?
- US /ˈd͡ʒɝbl̩/
- UK /ˈdʒɜːbl̩/
Gerbil 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: En-au-gerbil.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with gerbil?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as gerbil from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹbl/):
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 gerbil
- gerbils plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- gerbiling US, participle, present
- gerbilling UK, participle, present
- gerbiled US, participle, past
- gerbilled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gerbil mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A member of one of several species of small, jumping, mouselike rodents of the subfamily Gerbillinae, native to Africa, India, and Southern Europe.
verb
- 1
To rotate inside a monowheel or similar apparatus due to sudden acceleration or braking.
- 2
slangTo insert a small animal (typically a gerbil, supposedly) into one's rectum (a sexual practice in urban myth).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gerbil in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense small rodent:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gerbille |
| German | Rennmaus, Wüstenrennmaus, mongolische Rennmaus |
| Portuguese | gerbilo |
| Spanish | gerbillo, gerbil, merión |
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 gerbil come from?
From French gerbille, from Latin gerbo, from Arabic جَرْبُوع (jarbūʕ) or يَرْبُوع (yarbūʕ, “jerboa”). Doublet of jerboa.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).