pica
/ˈpaɪkə/noun
pica is spelled P-I-C-A: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pica means “A disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances, such as chalk, clay, dirt, ice, or sand” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pica is picas.
How many letters and syllables are in pica?
| Letters | 4: P-I-C-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,954th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pica?
Pica appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th 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 pica?
- UK /ˈpaɪkə/
- US /ˈpaɪkə/
Pica has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pica.wav, En-us-pica.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pica?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pica from its last stressed vowel (/aɪkə/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: paci, apic.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of pica
- picas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pica mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances, such as chalk, clay, dirt, ice, or sand.
- 2
A magpie.
- 3
A size of type between small pica and English, now standardized as 12-point.
- 4
A font of this size.
- 5
A unit of length equivalent to 12 points, officially ³⁵⁄₈₃ cm (0.166 in) after 1886 but now (computing) ¹⁄₆ in.
- 6
A pie or directory: the book directing Roman Catholic observance of saints' days and other feasts under various calendars.
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of phenolic impregnated carbon ablator.
- 2
Initialism of posterior inferior cerebellar artery.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pica in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense disorder:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | pica |
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 pica come from?
Borrowed from Latin pīca (“jay; magpie”). Doublet of pie (“magpie”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).