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PlainSpell

shag

/ˈʃæɡ/noun, verb, adjective

shag is spelled S-H-A-G: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,214th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shag means “Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shag is shags.

How many letters and syllables are in shag?

Letters4: S-H-A-G
Syllables1
In writing1.0 times per million words; the 28,214th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
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 shag?

Shag appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,214th 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 shag?

  • US /ˈʃæɡ/
  • British /ˈʃaɡ/
  • Australia /ˈʃæːɡ/

Shag has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-shag.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with shag

Also written: shack.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with shag?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as shag from its last stressed vowel (/æɡ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: gash.

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 shag

  • shags plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • shagging participle, present
  • shagged participle, past
  • more shag comparative
  • most shag superlative
  • shack

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does shag mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc.

  2. 2

    Coarse shredded tobacco.

  3. 3

    A type of rough carpet pile.

  4. 4

    IrelandUKarchaicBacon or fat, especially if with some remaining hair or bristles.

  5. 5

    IrelandUKarchaicA roughly-cut or torn-off piece of bread or cheese.

  6. 6

    A deliberately messy, shaggy hairstyle.

  7. 7

    Any of several species of sea birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant family), especially a common shag or European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), found on European and African coasts.

  8. 8

    A swing dance.

  9. 9

    slangvulgarAn act of sex.

  10. 10

    slangvulgarA casual sexual partner.

  11. 11

    A fundraising dance in honour of a couple engaged to be married.

  12. 12

    Friend; mate; buddy.

verb

  1. 1

    To make hairy or shaggy; to roughen.

  2. 2

    obsoleteTo hang in shaggy clusters.

  3. 3

    To shake, wiggle around.

  4. 4

    AustraliaIrelandUKslangvulgarTo have sex with.

  5. 5

    AustraliaIrelandUKslangvulgarTo have sex.

  6. 6

    IndiaslangvulgarTo masturbate.

  7. 7

    To chase after; especially, to chase after and return (a ball) hit usually out of play.

  8. 8

    To perform the dance called the shag.

adjective

  1. 1

    slangExhausted, worn out, extremely tired.

  2. 2

    slangTough and exhausting.

  3. 3

    obsoleteHairy; shaggy.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Shag in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Portugueseguedelha, grenha (matted material), corvo-marinho (sea bird), agitar (to shake), comer (to have sex with), foda (act of sex)
Frenchcormoran huppé (sea bird), sauter, baiser (to have sex with), baise (act of sex), tabac à rouler (coarse shredded tobacco)
GermanKrähenscharbe (sea bird), bumsen, ficken (to have sex with), Fick (act of sex), Fickpartner, Fickpartnerin (sexual partner)
Spanishcormorán, cormorán moñudo (sea bird), joder (to have sex with), polvo (act of sex)

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 shag come from?

From Middle English *schagge, from Old English sċeacga (“hair, wool”), from Proto-Germanic *skaggô, *skaggiją (“projection, bristly hair, stem”), *skag- (“to emerge, stick out, protrude”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kek- (“to jump, move, hurry”). Akin to Old Norse skegg (“beard”) (compare Danish skæg, Norwegian skjegg, Swedish skägg). Related to shake and shock via the root.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after shag