handlebar
/ˈhændəlbɑːɹ/noun
handlebar is spelled H-A-N-D-L-E-B-A-R: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, handlebar means “The bar used to steer a bicycle, motorbike, or similar vehicle using the hands” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of handlebar is handlebars.
How many letters and syllables are in handlebar?
| Letters | 9: H-A-N-D-L-E-B-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 51,129th 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 handlebar?
Handlebar appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th 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 handlebar?
- UK /ˈhændəlbɑː/
- US /ˈhændəlbɑːɹ/
Handlebar has 3 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)-I_learned_some_phrases-handlebar.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of handlebar
- handlebars plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does handlebar mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The bar used to steer a bicycle, motorbike, or similar vehicle using the hands.
- 2
slangXanax.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Handlebar in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense bar for steering:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | guidon |
| German | Lenker, Lenkstange |
| Portuguese | guidom, guidão, guiador |
| Spanish | manillar, manubrio |
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 handlebar come from?
From handle + bar.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).