matchstick
/ˈmætʃstɪk/noun
matchstick is spelled M-A-T-C-H-S-T-I-C-K: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 75,877th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, matchstick means “A small, slender piece of wood or cardboard serving as a component of a match” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of matchstick is matchsticks.
How many letters and syllables are in matchstick?
| Letters | 10: M-A-T-C-H-S-T-I-C-K |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 75,877th 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 matchstick?
Matchstick appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 75,877th 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 matchstick?
- US /ˈmætʃstɪk/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-matchstick.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-matchstick.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with matchstick
Also written: match stick (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of matchstick
- matchsticks plural
- match stick
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does matchstick mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small, slender piece of wood or cardboard serving as a component of a match.
Holonym: match
- 2
Any similarly small and thin piece.
The explosion blew the powder shed to matchsticks.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Matchstick in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense piece of wood:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | allumette |
| German | Streichholz, Zündholz |
| Portuguese | palito de fósforo |
| Spanish | fósforo |
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 matchstick come from?
From match + stick.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).