screwball
/ˈskɹuːbɔːl/noun, adjective
screwball is spelled S-C-R-E-W-B-A-L-L: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, screwball means “A pitch thrown with added pressure by the index finger and a twisting wrist motion resulting in a motion to the right when thrown by a right-handed…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of screwball is screwballs.
How many letters and syllables are in screwball?
| Letters | 9: S-C-R-E-W-B-A-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,788th 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 screwball?
Screwball appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th 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 screwball?
- /ˈskɹuːbɔːl/
Screwball 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: En-us-screwball.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of screwball
- screwballs plural
- more screwball comparative
- most screwball superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does screwball mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A pitch thrown with added pressure by the index finger and a twisting wrist motion resulting in a motion to the right when thrown by a right-handed pitcher.
The screwball is not thrown much because it tends to damage pitcher's arms.
- 2
USderogatoryinformalOne who behaves in a crazy manner.
I will not listen to this screwball any longer.
- 3
A screwball comedy.
adjective
- 1
derogatoryinformalCrazy, offbeat, bizarre, zany, or weird.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Screwball in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Screwball , Spinner, Verrückter, Irrer, hirnverbrannter Typ , verrückt |
| French | fêlé |
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 screwball come from?
From screw + ball. Compare typologically German Spinner (akin to spin). Also compare weirdo and weird, from Old English wyrd (“fate”), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn, to spin”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).