halfwit
/ˈhæf.wɪt/noun
halfwit is spelled H-A-L-F-W-I-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 109,062nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, halfwit means “Someone lacking in intelligence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of halfwit is halfwits.
How many letters and syllables are in halfwit?
| Letters | 7: H-A-L-F-W-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 109,062nd 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 halfwit?
Halfwit appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 109,062nd 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 halfwit?
- /ˈhæf.wɪt/
- /ˈhɑːf.wɪt/
Halfwit 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-halfwit.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of halfwit
- halfwits plural
- half-wit
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does halfwit mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalSomeone lacking in intelligence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does halfwit come from?
From half + wit. First attested in 1607.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).