heebie-jeebies

/ˌhiː.biːˈdʒiː.biːz/

//ˌhiː.biːˈdʒiː.biːz// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"heebie-jeebies" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“heebie-jeebies” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea.

Corpus desk

Index EN-heebie-jeebies · heebie-jeebies · English

heebie-jeebies · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-8 8 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for heebie-jeebies
PropertyValue
Headwordheebie-jeebies
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌhiː.biːˈdʒiː.biːz/
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “heebie-jeebies” sits in English frequency

heebie-jeebiessits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

heebie-jeebies is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌhiː.biːˈdʒiː.biːz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for heebie-jeebies, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: The earliest found occurrences of spelling variants (it is not established whether the first one coined the term or committed to print an earlier oral expression): * In 1923, the spelling "heeby jeebys" was used by U.S. cartoonist Billy De Beck in his comic… The correct English form is heebie-jeebies, spelled H-E-E-B-I-E---J-E-E-B-I-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how heebie-jeebies appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I don't mind worms, but spiders give me the heebie-jeebies.
  2. When I see that weird house, I get the heebie-jeebies.

Etymology

The earliest found occurrences of spelling variants (it is not established whether the first one coined the term or committed to print an earlier oral expression): * In 1923, the spelling "heeby jeebys" was used by U.S. cartoonist Billy De Beck in his comic strip Barney Google (New York American, 26 October 1923). * In 1925, the spelling "heebee-jeebees" was used in U.S. magazine Ladies' Home Journal (Vol. 42, Part 2, p. 44). * In 1926, the spelling "heebie jeebies" was used by U.S. singer Louis Armstrong for his single "Heebie Jeebies" (written by Boyd Atkins). * In 1928, the spelling "heebee-geebees" was used in U.S. article "We All Have the Heebee-Geebees" by G. M. Keller of Swift & Company (Modern School Store, Vol. 11, p. 269 via Google Books). * In 1956, the spelling "heeby jeebies" was used by U.S. singer Little Richard on the cover of his homonymous SP record (and the hyphenated spelling "heeby-jeebies" on its vinyl disc itself).

Synonyms

creepswilliescollywobblesfear

This word in other languages

yuyu(Español)Angstzustände(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "heebie-jeebies"?
"heebie-jeebies" is spelled H-E-E-B-I-E---J-E-E-B-I-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌhiː.biːˈdʒiː.biːz/.
What does "heebie-jeebies" mean?
As a noun, "heebie-jeebies" means: A general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea.
How do you pronounce "heebie-jeebies"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heebie-jeebies" is /ˌhiː.biːˈdʒiː.biːz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "heebie-jeebies"?
The earliest found occurrences of spelling variants (it is not established whether the first one coined the term or committed to print an earlier oral expression): * In 1923, the spelling "heeby jeebys" was used by U.S. cartoonist Billy De Beck in... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list