Shakespeare
Shake·speare/ˈʃeɪkspɪɹ/noun, verb
Shakespeare is spelled S-H-A-K-E-S-P-E-A-R-E: 11 letters and 2 syllables (Shake·speare). It appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 7,121st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, Shakespeare means “Any form or style of language that is eloquent, especially in English; poetry” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of Shakespeare is Shakespeares.
How many letters and syllables are in Shakespeare?
| Letters | 11: S-H-A-K-E-S-P-E-A-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: Shake·speare |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 7,121st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is Shakespeare?
Shakespeare appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 7,121st 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 Shakespeare?
- US /ˈʃeɪkspɪɹ/
- UK /ˈʃeɪkspɪə/
- British /ˈʃɛjkspɪː/
Shakespeare has 2 syllables, split Shake·speare in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Shakespeare.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of Shakespeare
- Shakespeares plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- Shakespearing participle, present
- Shakespeared participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does Shakespeare mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any form or style of language that is eloquent, especially in English; poetry.
- 2
A playwright of the standing of William Shakespeare.
verb
- 1
To act or perform in a play of the works of Shakespeare.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does Shakespeare come from?
A common Middle English surname meaning spearman, corresponding to shake (“to brandish a weapon”) + spear.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).