greyhound
/ˈɡɹeɪhaʊnd/noun, verb
greyhound is spelled G-R-E-Y-H-O-U-N-D: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, greyhound means “A lean breed of dog used in hunting and racing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of greyhound is greyhounds.
How many letters and syllables are in greyhound?
| Letters | 9: G-R-E-Y-H-O-U-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd 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 greyhound?
Greyhound appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd 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 greyhound?
- /ˈɡɹeɪhaʊnd/
Greyhound 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-greyhound.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of greyhound
- greyhounds plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- grayhound
- greyhounding participle, present
- greyhounded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does greyhound mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A lean breed of dog used in hunting and racing.
- 2
A highball cocktail of vodka and grapefruit juice.
- 3
datedA swift steamer, especially an ocean steamer.
verb
- 1
To leap rapidly across the surface of the water.
noun
- 1
A bus run by Greyhound Lines.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Greyhound in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense lean breed of dog used in hunting and racing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lévrier, levrette |
| German | Windhund, Windhundrüde, Windhündin, Windhundwelpe |
| Portuguese | galgo |
| Spanish | galgo |
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 greyhound come from?
From Old English grīġhund, from a cognate or borrowing of Old Norse grøy (“bitch”) (whence Icelandic grey, thus not related to the colour grey) plus hund (“hound”). Altered by folk etymology to appear to be grey + hound.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).