girdle
/ˈɡɝdl̩/noun, verb
girdle is spelled G-I-R-D-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, girdle means “That which girds, encircles, or encloses; a circumference” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of girdle is girdles.
How many letters and syllables are in girdle?
| Letters | 6: G-I-R-D-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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 girdle?
Girdle appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th 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 girdle?
- US /ˈɡɝdl̩/
- UK /ˈɡɜːdl̩/
Girdle 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-girdle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with girdle?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as girdle from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹdl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: glider, gilder.
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 girdle
- girdles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- girdling participle, present
- girdled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does girdle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
That which girds, encircles, or encloses; a circumference.
the girdle of the world
- 2
A belt or sash at the waist, often used to support stockings or hosiery.
- 3
A garment used to hold the abdomen, hips, buttocks, and/or thighs in a particular shape.
- 4
The line of greatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting.
- 5
A thin bed or stratum of stone.
- 6
The clitellum of an earthworm.
- 7
The removal or inversion of a ring of bark in order to kill or stunt a tree.
- 8
ScotlandAlternative form of griddle.
verb
- 1
To gird, encircle, or constrain by such means.
- 2
To kill or stunt a tree by removing or inverting a ring of bark.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Girdle 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.
Where does girdle come from?
From Middle English girdel, gerdel, gurdel, from Old English gyrdel, from Proto-West Germanic *gurdil, from Proto-Germanic *gurdilaz (“girdle, belt”), equivalent to gird + -le.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).