jigger
/ˈd͡ʒɪɡɚ/noun, verb
jigger is spelled J-I-G-G-E-R: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, jigger means “A double-ended vessel, generally of stainless steel or other metal, one end of which typically measures 1½ fluid ounces (approx. 44 ml), the other…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of jigger is jiggers.
How many letters and syllables are in jigger?
| Letters | 6: J-I-G-G-E-R |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 83,271st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none 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 jigger?
Jigger appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st 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 jigger?
- US /ˈd͡ʒɪɡɚ/
- UK /ˈd͡ʒɪɡə/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-jigger.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with jigger?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as jigger from its last stressed vowel (/ɪɡəɹ/):
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 jigger
- jiggers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- jiggering participle, present
- jiggered participle, past
- gigger
- gyger
- jegger
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does jigger mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USA double-ended vessel, generally of stainless steel or other metal, one end of which typically measures 1½ fluid ounces (approx. 44 ml), the other typically 1 fluid ounce (approx. 30 ml).
A good jigger will have a well formed lip that will pour a clean stream into the cocktail shaker or glass.
- 2
USA measure of 1½ fluid ounces (approx. 44 ml) of liquor.
- 3
USslangA drink of whiskey.
- 4
The sieve used in sorting or separating ore.
- 5
One who jigs; a miner who sorts or cleans ore by the process of jigging.
- 6
A horizontal lathe used in producing flatware.
- 7
A device used in the dyeing of cloth.
- 8
A pendulum rolling machine for slicking or graining leather.
- 9
A sandflea, Tunga penetrans, of the order Siphonaptera; chigoe.
- 10
A larva of any of several mites in the family Trombiculidae; chigger, harvest mite.
- 11
archaicslangA prison; a jail cell.
- 12
datedAn alleyway separating the backs of two rows of houses.
- 13
datedslangThe penis.
- 14
slangA vagina.
- 15
UKobsoleteA door.
- 16
slangAn illegal distillery.
- 17
UKslangEllipsis of jigger gun (“lock pick”).
verb
- 1
To alter or adjust, particularly in ways not originally intended.
You'll have to jigger it from the original specifications to get it to work.
- 2
To use a jigger.
- 3
To move, send, or drive with a jerk; to jerk; also, to drive or send over with a jerk, as a golf ball.
- 4
obsoleteslangTo imprison.
- 5
archaicslangTo confound; to damn.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Jigger in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense double ended vessel:
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 jigger come from?
From jig + -er (agent suffix). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary suggests a possible link to Old High German gīga (“fiddle”), for which see modern German Geige.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).