picky
/ˈpɪki/adjective, noun
picky is spelled P-I-C-K-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, picky means “Fussy; particular; demanding to have things just right” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in picky?
| Letters | 5: P-I-C-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is picky?
Picky appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th 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 picky?
- /ˈpɪki/
Picky 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-picky.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of picky
- pickier comparative
- pickiest superlative
- pickies plural
- piccy
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does picky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Fussy; particular; demanding to have things just right.
I am very picky about the way my kitchen is laid out.
- 2
UKcolloquialOf food or a meal: consisting of various small items from which the diner can pick and choose.
picky bits
noun
- 1
informalA picture.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does picky come from?
From pick + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).