keister

noun

"keister" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“keister” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The anus or buttocks.

Corpus desk

Index EN-keister · keister · English

keister · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for keister
PropertyValue
Headwordkeister
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “keister” in English

keisterfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

keister is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for keister in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Uncertain. Originally attested as a criminal cant word for "burglar's tool-box" in 1881. In the 20th century a clutch of criminal slang meanings are mentioned, including "safe, strongbox". "Tripe and keister" had been the phrase for a conman's or a pitchman… The correct English form is keister, spelled K-E-I-S-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The anus or buttocks.
  2. 2
    A safe, a strongbox.
  3. 3
    A suitcase or satchel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how keister appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. ― " […] The four hundred's yours to take a keister for me. Any cash you find in the box is yours." ― "Four hundred, huh? Don't seem like much. Think there'd be anything in the keister?"
  2. Tripods, keister and loud talk don't make a pitchman any more than do fine feathers make fine birds.

Etymology

Uncertain. Originally attested as a criminal cant word for "burglar's tool-box" in 1881. In the 20th century a clutch of criminal slang meanings are mentioned, including "safe, strongbox". "Tripe and keister" had been the phrase for a conman's or a pitchman's display case on a tripod. A likely origin is the word Kiste, which means a box or case, in both German and Yiddish.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "keister"?
"keister" is spelled K-E-I-S-T-E-R.
What does "keister" mean?
As a noun, "keister" means: The anus or buttocks.
What is the origin of the word "keister"?
Uncertain. Originally attested as a criminal cant word for "burglar's tool-box" in 1881. In the 20th century a clutch of criminal slang meanings are mentioned, including "safe, strongbox". "Tripe and keister" had been the phrase for a conman's or ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list