hick
/hɪk/noun, verb
hick is spelled H-I-C-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Hick, the name). As a derogatory noun, hick means “An awkward, naive, clumsy and/or rude country person” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hick is hicks.
How many letters and syllables are in hick?
| Letters | 4: H-I-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,703rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hick?
Hick appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Hick, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hick?
- /hɪk/
Hick has one syllable (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-hick.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with hick
Sounds like: hic (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with hick?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as hick.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: chik.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hick
- hicks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hicking participle, present
- hicked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hick mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
derogatoryAn awkward, naive, clumsy and/or rude country person.
verb
- 1
To hiccup.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hick in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense country yokel or hillbilly:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | plouc |
| German | Landei, Hinterwäldler |
| Portuguese | caipira, labrego, saloio |
| Spanish | paleto, palurdo, gueishpo |
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 hick come from?
From Hick (“pet form of Richard”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).