jeer

/d͡ʒɪə/

//d͡ʒɪə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"jeer" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“jeer” is uncommon English (frequency #80,580 among 796 “J” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,580
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mocking remark or reflection.

Corpus desk

Index EN-jeer · jeer · English

jeer · rank #80,580 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #80,580
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH Jedburgh

Nearest frequency peer: Jedburgh (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “jeer”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “jeer” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for jeer
PropertyValue
Headwordjeer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/d͡ʒɪə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#80,580
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “jeer” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).jeerfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Jedburgh” (#80,579), “JEP” (#80,581), “Jayanti” (#80,578). Among 796 “J” headwords, “jeer” is #80,580. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

jeer is uncommon English at frequency #80,580 among 796 “J” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /d͡ʒɪə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A mocking remark or reflection.".

No misspelling variants are generated for jeer in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier gyr, probably from Dutch gieren (“to roar with laughter, laugh loudly”) (related to German gieren (“to gape, snap”)); or from Dutch gekscheren (“to jeer”, literally “to shear the fool”), from gek (“a fool”) (see geck) + scheren (“to shear”) (se… The correct English form is jeer, spelled J-E-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mocking remark or reflection.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how jeer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1711, Jonathan Swift, The Fable of Midas, in The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Vol XII, Sir Walter Scott, ed., Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co., 1824, pages 302-5, Midas, exposed to all their jeers, Had lost his art, and kept his ears.

Etymology

From earlier gyr, probably from Dutch gieren (“to roar with laughter, laugh loudly”) (related to German gieren (“to gape, snap”)); or from Dutch gekscheren (“to jeer”, literally “to shear the fool”), from gek (“a fool”) (see geck) + scheren (“to shear”) (see shear (verb)). The OED states no verifiable connection to English cheer.

This word in other languages

moquerie(Français)Spott(Deutsch)escárnio(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "jeer"?
"jeer" is spelled J-E-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /d͡ʒɪə/.
What does "jeer" mean?
As a noun, "jeer" means: A mocking remark or reflection.
How do you pronounce "jeer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "jeer" is /d͡ʒɪə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "jeer"?
From earlier gyr, probably from Dutch gieren (“to roar with laughter, laugh loudly”) (related to German gieren (“to gape, snap”)); or from Dutch gekscheren (“to jeer”, literally “to shear the fool”), from gek (“a fool”) (see geck) + scheren (“to s... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "jeer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kafr#80,587Hsia#80,542liek#80,619Henn#80,527

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list