lickety-split
"lickety-split" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lickety-split” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Quickly; as fast as possible; in short order.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lickety-split |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lickety-split” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for lickety-split is 13 letters long, classified as an adverb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Quickly; as fast as possible; in short order.".
lickety-split has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested during the 19th century, in the US, equivalent to lickedy + split, perhaps as a reference to the flick or darting of a snake's forked tongue. The forms lickety-cut and licketie are similarly attested; and forms with t are likely due to Scotti… The correct English form is lickety-split, spelled L-I-C-K-E-T-Y---S-P-L-I-T.
Definition
- 1Quickly; as fast as possible; in short order.
Etymology
First attested during the 19th century, in the US, equivalent to lickedy + split, perhaps as a reference to the flick or darting of a snake's forked tongue. The forms lickety-cut and licketie are similarly attested; and forms with t are likely due to Scottish influence.
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
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Using “lickety-split”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-I-C-K-E-T-Y---S-P-L-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.