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PlainSpell

greasy

/ˈɡɹi.si/adjective, noun

greasy is spelled G-R-E-A-S-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, greasy means “Having a slippery surface; having a surface covered with grease” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in greasy?

Letters6: G-R-E-A-S-Y
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone 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 greasy?

Greasy 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 greasy?

  • US /ˈɡɹi.si/
  • US /ˈɡɹi.zi/
  • UK /ˈɡɹiː.si/

Greasy 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-greasy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with greasy?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as greasy from its last stressed vowel (/isi/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: gyrase.

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 greasy

  • greasier comparative
  • greasiest superlative
  • greasey rare
  • greasies plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does greasy mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Having a slippery surface; having a surface covered with grease.

    a greasy mineral

  2. 2

    Containing a lot of grease or fat.

  3. 3

    Oily in manner; obsequious.

  4. 4

    slangShady, sketchy, dodgy, detestable, unethical.

  5. 5

    obsoleteFat, bulky.

  6. 6

    obsoleteGross; indelicate; indecent.

  7. 7

    Afflicted with the disease called grease.

noun

  1. 1

    AustraliaAn annoyed or contemptuous look; a dirty look.

  2. 2

    Wool that still contains grease and has not undergone scouring.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Greasy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanschmierig, rutschig (having a slippery surface), fettig (Containing a lot of grease or fat)
Portugueseengordurado (having a slippery surface)
Spanishgrasiento, grasoso, graso, resbaloso (having a slippery surface)

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 greasy come from?

From Middle English gresi, gressy, equivalent to grease + -y.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after greasy