huddle
/ˈhʌdəl/noun, verb, adjective
huddle is spelled H-U-D-D-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, huddle means “A small group of individuals in very close proximity to one another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of huddle is huddles.
How many letters and syllables are in huddle?
| Letters | 6: H-U-D-D-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,092nd 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 huddle?
Huddle appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd 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 huddle?
- /ˈhʌdəl/
Huddle 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-huddle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of huddle
- huddles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- huddling participle, present
- huddled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does huddle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small group of individuals in very close proximity to one another.
- 2
A session in which a group of journalists assemble in an informal, dense cluster to question a person of interest.
- 3
A brief meeting of all the players from one team that are on the field with the purpose of planning the following play.
- 4
A hesitation during play to think about one's next move.
- 5
obsoleteA dense and disorderly crowd.
verb
- 1
To crowd together.
The sheep huddled together seeking warmth.
- 2
To curl one's legs up to the chest and keep one's arms close to the torso; to crouch; to assume a position similar to that of an embryo in the womb.
- 3
To get together and discuss a topic.
- 4
To form a huddle.
- 5
To crowd (things) together; to mingle confusedly; to assemble without order or system.
- 6
To do, make, or put, in haste or roughly; hence, to do imperfectly; usually with a following preposition or adverb (huddle on, huddle up, huddle together).
- 7
To hesitate during play while thinking about one's next move.
adjective
- 1
Huddled, confused, congested.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Huddle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | wirrer Haufen |
| Spanish | chusma , timbac , acurrucarse , amontonarse, arracimarse, enracimarse |
| French | se blottir, s'amasser , caucus , se raccoquiller |
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 huddle come from?
From Middle English *hudelen, alteration (due to hudels, hidels (“hiding place”), see hiddle) of *huderen, hoderen (“to cover; press together; huddle”), a frequentative form of Middle English huden, hiden (“to hide”), equivalent to hide + -le and/or hide + -er. Compare Low German huderken (“to brood; coddle; nurse; lull children to sleep”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).