lockjaw
noun
lockjaw is spelled L-O-C-K-J-A-W: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lockjaw means “A spasmodic, nervous system disease brought on by the tetanus bacteria, causing muscles to seize up and may cause death by suffocation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lockjaw is lockjaws.
How many letters and syllables are in lockjaw?
| Letters | 7: L-O-C-K-J-A-W |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 70,702nd 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 lockjaw?
Lockjaw appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd 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 lockjaw?
- US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-lockjaw.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lockjaw
- lockjaws plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lockjaw mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A spasmodic, nervous system disease brought on by the tetanus bacteria, causing muscles to seize up and may cause death by suffocation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lockjaw in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense disease:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | trisme, trismus |
| German | Tetanus, Wundstarrkrampf |
| Portuguese | trismo, tétano |
| Spanish | trismo, tétanos |
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 lockjaw come from?
From lock + jaw.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).