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PlainSpell

jerky

jer·ky/ˈd͡ʒɝki/adjective, noun, verb

jerky is spelled J-E-R-K-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables (jer·ky). It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, jerky means “Characterized by physical jerking, or by sudden and uneven progress” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in jerky?

Letters5: J-E-R-K-Y
Syllables2: jer·ky
In writing1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is jerky?

Jerky appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th 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 jerky?

  • UK /ˈd͡ʒɜːki/
  • US /ˈd͡ʒɝki/

Jerky has 2 syllables, split jer·ky in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-jerky.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with jerky?

4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as jerky from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹki/):

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 jerky

  • jerkier comparative
  • jerkiest superlative
  • jerkies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • jerkying participle, present
  • jerkied participle, past

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

What does jerky mean?

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

adjective

  1. 1

    Characterized by physical jerking, or by sudden and uneven progress.

    jerky flight

  2. 2

    USHaving the behavior of a jerk (unpleasant person).

    jerky guy

  3. 3

    colloquialdatedAnxious; jumpy.

noun

  1. 1

    Lean meat cured and preserved by cutting into thin strips and air-drying in the sun.

verb

  1. 1

    To cure and preserve (meat) by drying it, making jerky.

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

Jerky in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsaccadée, saccadé (characterized by physical jerking), charqui, jerky (Lean meat cured and preserved by cutting into…)
Germanzuckend (characterized by physical jerking), Trockenfleisch, Dörrfleisch (Lean meat cured and preserved by cutting into…)
Portuguesecharque (Lean meat cured and preserved by cutting into…)
Spanishcharqui, cábano, charque, cecina, chacina, tasajo (Lean meat cured and preserved by cutting into…)

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 jerky come from?

From jerk + -y.

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

What to look up after jerky