shiv
/ʃɪv/noun, verb
shiv is spelled S-H-I-V: 4 letters. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Shiv, the name). As a noun, shiv means “A knife, especially a makeshift one fashioned from something not normally used as a weapon (like a plastic spoon or a toothbrush)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shiv is shivs.
How many letters and syllables are in shiv?
| Letters | 4: S-H-I-V |
|---|---|
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 25,751st 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 shiv?
Shiv appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Shiv, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce shiv?
- /ʃɪv/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-shiv.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-shiv.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shiv
- shivs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- chib
- chiv
- shive
- shivving participle, present
- shivved participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shiv mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
slangA knife, especially a makeshift one fashioned from something not normally used as a weapon (like a plastic spoon or a toothbrush).
- 2
A particular woody by-product of processing flax or hemp.
verb
- 1
slangTo stab (someone) with a shiv.
- 2
slangTo stab (someone) with anything not normally used as a stabbing weapon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shiv in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 shiv come from?
First attested 1915. From chive, chieve, chife, chiv (“knife”), from Romani chive, chiv, chivvomengro (“knife, dagger, blade”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).