hamster
/ˈhæm(p)stɚ/noun, verb
hamster is spelled H-A-M-S-T-E-R. The wrong spelling people search most is hampster: about 2,530 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 14 of all searches for the word. Hamster is a noun meaning “Any of various Old World rodent species belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae”. The plural of hamster is hamsters.
How many letters and syllables are in hamster?
| Letters | 7: H-A-M-S-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, hampster, about 2,530 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell hamster?
Hamster is spelled H-A-M-S-T-E-R. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 14 of the searches for hamster in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is hamster?
Hamster appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th 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 hamster?
- UK /ˈhæm(p)stə/
- British /ˈham(p)stə/
- US /ˈhæm(p)stɚ/
Hamster 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-uk-hamster.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hamster
- hamsters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hamstering participle, present
- hamstered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hamster mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various Old World rodent species belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae.
The hamster stuffed his puffy cheeks with food.
- 2
In particular, a rodent of the species Mesocricetus auratus (the golden hamster) or of a species of the genera Cricetiscus and Phodopus (the dwarf hamsters), often kept as a pet or used in scientific research.
- 3
Any of various other rodents of similar appearance, such as the maned hamster or crested hamster, Lophiomys imhausi, mouse-like hamsters of genus Calomyscus, and the white-tailed rat (Mystromys albicaudatus).
verb
- 1
To secrete or store privately, as a hamster does with food in its cheek pouches.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hamster 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 hamster come from?
Borrowed from German Hamster (see for etymology). Displaced earlier term German rat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).