holy
/ˈhoʊli/adjective, interjection
holy is spelled H-O-L-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 76 times per million words in written English, the 1,394th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “holey vs holy” about 50 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, holy means “Dedicated to a religious purpose or a god” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in holy?
| Letters | 4: H-O-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 76 times per million words; the 1,394th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is holy?
Holy appears 76 times per million words in written English, the 1,394th 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 holy?
- UK /ˈhəʊli/
- US /ˈhoʊli/
Holy 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-us-holy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with holy
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: wholly (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with holy?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as holy from its last stressed vowel (/oʊli/):
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 holy
- holier comparative
- holiest superlative
- 'oly
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does holy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Dedicated to a religious purpose or a god.
I'm planning to visit the holy city of Jerusalem this Christmas.
- 2
Revered in a religion.
This tree is considered holy in my culture.
- 3
Morally perfect or flawless, or nearly so.
My grandmother is a very holy woman.
- 4
Separated or set apart from (something unto something or someone else).
- 5
Set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose, or for use by a single entity or person.
- 6
slangUsed as an intensifier in various interjections.
Holy cow, I can’t believe he actually lost the race!
interjection
- 1
slangAn expression of astonishment and awe.
adjective
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of holy used when referring to an important figure, such as God, or to an important item or event.
noun
- 1
archaicA thing that is extremely holy; used almost exclusively in Holy of Holies.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Holy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | saint, sacré , bénit |
| German | heilig |
| Portuguese | santo, sagrado, sacro , imaculado |
| Spanish | santo, sagrado, sacro |
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 holy come from?
From Middle English ali, aly, hale, halege, hali, halȝe, hayly, holi, holia, holie, holiȝ, holy, hooly, oli, oly, wholy, woly, from Old English hāleġ, hāliġ (“holy, sacred; healthy, sound”), from Proto-West Germanic *hailag, from Proto-Germanic *hailagaz (“holy, sacred”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“healthy; whole”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos (“intact, whole; complete; hale, healthy, sound”), equivalent to whole + -y and a doublet of later wholly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).