kayfabe
kay·fabe/ˈkeɪˌfeɪb/noun, adjective, verb
kayfabe is spelled K-A-Y-F-A-B-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (kay·fabe). It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 82,325th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kayfabe means “The act, situation, or code of portraying staged events, performances, rivalries, etc as authentic or spontaneous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in kayfabe?
| Letters | 7: K-A-Y-F-A-B-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: kay·fabe |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 82,325th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is kayfabe?
Kayfabe appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 82,325th 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 kayfabe?
- UK /ˈkeɪfeɪb/
- US /ˈkeɪˌfeɪb/
Kayfabe has 2 syllables, split kay·fabe in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-kayfabe.wav, En-us-kayfabe.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of kayfabe
- kay fabe
- kay-fabe
- kafabe
- kayfabes present, singular, he/she/it
- kayfabing participle, present
- kayfabed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kayfabe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act, situation, or code of portraying staged events, performances, rivalries, etc as authentic or spontaneous.
"Jack, Gordon and I were talking about how we heard Ric Flair do an interview where he said there was no such thing as kay-fabe any more," said Blair, referring to the fact most wrestler secrets were exposed in the 1990s.
- 2
Similar fakery or suspension of disbelief in other contexts.
The Republican brand will be tarnished even more as mainstream media outlets and late-night comedians gleefully broadcast Moore’s asininity to the broader public. But, yeah, sure: It’ll be entertaining for people who now follow politics lik
adjective
- 1
Of or related to kayfabe, especially forbidden to mention or show in order to maintain kayfabe.
My wife... currently serves as a Florida State Senator... My kayfabe wife has enormous fake breasts, bleach blonde hair, and a nose that is too small for her face.
verb
- 1
To maintain kayfabe, to deceive by staying in character.
...Mascaras was never one of the boys. Here's an example: after his matches, he'd shower with his mask on. I understand protecting your image, but the guy was kayfabing us.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does kayfabe come from?
Unknown, but attributed to US carnival slang (carny), usually as a purposefully obscure variant of the admonition “be fake” formed through backslang or mangled pig Latin. Also sometimes attributed to an alteration of cave (Latin for “beware”), keep cavey (“stay alert”), or an eponymous figure named Kay Fabe or Kay Fabian.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).