jalopy
/d͡ʒəˈlɒ.pi/noun
jalopy is spelled J-A-L-O-P-Y: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 107,757th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, jalopy means “An old, dilapidated or unpretentious automobile” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of jalopy is jalopies.
How many letters and syllables are in jalopy?
| Letters | 6: J-A-L-O-P-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 107,757th 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 jalopy?
Jalopy appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 107,757th 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 jalopy?
- /d͡ʒəˈlɒ.pi/
Jalopy has 3 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-jalopy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of jalopy
- jalopies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does jalopy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USAn old, dilapidated or unpretentious automobile.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Jalopy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense old, dilapidated car:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | guimbarde, carriole, tas de ferraille, bagnole |
| German | alte Kiste, Klapperkiste, Schrottkiste, Schrottmühle, Rostlaube |
| Portuguese | calhambeque, chaço, lasanha |
| Spanish | cacharro, carro destartalado, carraca, tartana, carcacha, tiesto |
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 jalopy come from?
Unknown. Perhaps from Jalapa, Mexico (now Xalapa), to whose scrapyards used cars were often sent from New Orleans starting in the 1920s. First recorded written use in 1924.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).