glitch
/ˈɡlɪt͡ʃ/noun, verb
glitch is spelled G-L-I-T-C-H: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, glitch means “A problem affecting function” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of glitch is glitches.
How many letters and syllables are in glitch?
| Letters | 6: G-L-I-T-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is glitch?
Glitch appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th 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 glitch?
- /ˈɡlɪt͡ʃ/
Glitch has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-glitch.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of glitch
- glitches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- glitching participle, present
- glitched participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does glitch mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A problem affecting function.
They are still trying to work out all the glitches.
- 2
informalAn unexpected behavior in an electrical signal, especially if the signal spontaneously returns to expected behavior after a period of time.
- 3
A bug or an exploit.
Performing this glitch gives you extra lives.
- 4
A genre of experimental electronic music since the 1990s, characterized by a deliberate use of sonic artifacts that would normally be viewed as unwanted noise.
- 5
A sudden increase in the rotational frequency of a pulsar.
verb
- 1
To experience an unexpected, typically intermittent malfunction.
My computer keeps glitching; every couple of hours it just reboots without warning.
- 2
To perform an exploit or recreate a bug while playing a video game.
His character will glitch into the wall and out of the level.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Glitch in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hic, pépin, os , bogue |
| German | Störung, Fehler, Macke , Glitch |
| Portuguese | falha, falha técnica, problema técnico, avaria, anomalia |
| Spanish | tara, falla, fallo , fallar, glichear, experienciar un problema técnico |
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 glitch come from?
Probably borrowed from Yiddish גליטש (glitsh), from German glitschig (“slippy”), from glitschen (“to slide, glide, slip”) + -ig (“-y”). Related to gleiten (“glide”). Cognate with French glisser (“to slip, slide, skid”). Popularized in the 1960s, by the US space program. Attested in 1962 by American astronaut John Glenn, in reference to spikes in electrical current.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).