jigger
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
6 characters
Language
English
word origin
Source
Wiktionary
open dictionary
Access
Free
no sign-up needed
Detailed reference entry for the English word "jigger", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "jigger" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "jigger" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
jigger is aEnglishnoun. It 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 typically 1 fluid ounce (approx. 30 ml). Pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɪɡɚ/.
Compare similar words
See how jigger compares against similar English words.
Browse all word comparisons →| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | jigger |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈd͡ʒɪɡɚ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #83,387 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for jigger is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈd͡ʒɪɡɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #83,387 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 24 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for jigger in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From jig + -er (agent suffix). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary suggests a possible link to Old High German gīga (“fiddle”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is jigger, spelled J-I-G-G-E-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1A 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).
- 2A measure of 1½ fluid ounces (approx. 44 ml) of liquor.
- 3A drink of whiskey.
- 4The sieve used in sorting or separating ore.
- 5One who jigs; a miner who sorts or cleans ore by the process of jigging.
- 6A horizontal lathe used in producing flatware.
- 7A device used in the dyeing of cloth.
- 8A pendulum rolling machine for slicking or graining leather.
- 9A bicycle.
- 10A golf club used to play low flying shots to the putting green from short distances.
- 11A warehouse crane.
- 12A light tackle, consisting of a double and single block and the fall, used for various purposes, as to increase the purchase on a topsail sheet in hauling it home; the watch tackle.
- 13A jiggermast.
- 14A small fishing vessel, rigged like a yawl.
- 15A device used by fishermen to set their nets under the ice of frozen lakes.
- 16One who dances jigs; an odd-looking person.
- 17A short board or plank inserted into a tree for a person to stand on while cutting off higher branches.
- 18A placeholder name for any small mechanical device.
- 19A railway jigger, a small motorized or human powered vehicle used by railway workers to traverse railway tracks.
- 20The bridge or rest for the cue in billiards.
- 21An illicit electric shock device used to urge on a horse during a race.
- 22A streetcar drawn by a single horse.
- 23A kind of early electric cash register.
- 24A total station or its predecessor, a theodolite.
Etymology
From jig + -er (agent suffix). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary suggests a possible link to Old High German gīga (“fiddle”).
This word in other languages
Frequency rank: #83,387 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "jigger"?
What does "jigger" mean?
How do you pronounce "jigger"?
What is the origin of the word "jigger"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter J in our English index: