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hickey

UK /ˈhɪk.i/noun

hickey is spelled H-I-C-K-E-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hickey means “A bruise-like mark made during petting by pressing the mouth to the skin on one’s partner’s body and sucking” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hickey is hickeys.

How many letters and syllables are in hickey?

Letters6: H-I-C-K-E-Y
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.3 times per million words; the 25,070th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone 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 hickey?

Hickey appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th 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 hickey?

  • UK /ˈhɪk.i/

Hickey 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-au-hickey.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of hickey

  • hickeys plural
  • hicky
  • hickie

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does hickey mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    slangA bruise-like mark made during petting by pressing the mouth to the skin on one’s partner’s body and sucking.

  2. 2

    A similar mark made by the pressure of a musical instrument such as a violin or viola against the neck.

  3. 3

    USA pimple.

  4. 4

    informalslangAn object whose name is unknown or cannot be recalled.

  5. 5

    A printing defect caused by foreign matter on the printing surface resulting in a ring where the ink is missing, appearing as a spot of ink surrounded by a halo, or as an unprinted spot within a solid printed area.

  6. 6

    informalA serif or other ornamentation on type.

  7. 7

    Local swelling in a tissue area, especially skin, often due to injury.

  8. 8

    A tool for making smooth, semicircular bends in conduit and pipe.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Hickey in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsuçon, sucette (bruise-like mark), truc, machin, bidule (referring to an object whose name is unknown or…)
GermanKnutschfleck (bruise-like mark), Dingsbums, Dings, Dingsda (referring to an object whose name is unknown or…), Beule, Horn (swelling in a tissue area)
Portuguesechupão (bruise-like mark), carrapato (printing defect caused by foreign matter on the…)
Spanishchupetón, chupón, chupete, mordisco amoroso, moretón, ñangazo erótico (bruise-like mark)

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 hickey come from?

Unknown.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after hickey