rictus
/ˈɹɪk.təs/noun
rictus is spelled R-I-C-T-U-S: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 117,098th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rictus means “A bird’s gaping mouth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rictus is rictuses.
How many letters and syllables are in rictus?
| Letters | 6: R-I-C-T-U-S |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 117,098th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rictus?
Rictus appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 117,098th 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 rictus?
- /ˈɹɪk.təs/
- /ˈɹɪk.tʊs/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-rictus.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rictus?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as rictus.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: citrus, rustic.
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 rictus
- rictuses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rictus mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A bird’s gaping mouth.
- 2
The throat of a calyx.
- 3
Any open-mouthed expression.
His face was a rictus of sheer delight.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rictus in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Any open-mouthed expression:
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 rictus come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin rictus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).