kayak
/ˈkaɪˌæk/noun, verb
kayak is spelled K-A-Y-A-K: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kayak means “A type of small boat, covered over by a surface deck, powered by the occupant or occupants using a double-bladed paddle in a sitting position, from a…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kayak is kayaks.
How many letters and syllables are in kayak?
| Letters | 5: K-A-Y-A-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is kayak?
Kayak appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th 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 kayak?
- US /ˈkaɪˌæk/
Kayak has 2 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)-Vealhurl-kayak.wav, En-us-kayak.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with kayak?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as kayak (/aɪæk/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: yakka.
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 kayak
- kayaks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- kaiak
- kiack
- kyack
- kyak
- qayaq
- kayack
- qajaq
- kayaking participle, present
- kayaked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kayak mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A type of small boat, covered over by a surface deck, powered by the occupant or occupants using a double-bladed paddle in a sitting position, from a hole in the surface deck.
verb
- 1
To use a kayak, to travel or race in a kayak.
Kayaking is an Olympic sport.
- 2
To traverse (a body of water) by kayak.
On a dare, he kayaked the Harlem River in New York from Hell's Gate to Spyten Duyvil.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kayak in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 kayak come from?
Borrowed from Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (qayaq, “hunter's boat”) (Inuvialuktun), from Proto-Eskimo *qayaʁ. Compare Greenlandic qajaq and Yup'ik qayaq.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).