shrike
/ʃɹaɪk/noun
shrike is spelled S-H-R-I-K-E: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shrike means “Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae which are known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shrike is shrikes.
How many letters and syllables are in shrike?
| Letters | 6: S-H-R-I-K-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,074th 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 shrike?
Shrike appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th 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 shrike?
- /ʃɹaɪk/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-shrike.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with shrike?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as shrike.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: shriek.
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 shrike
- shrikes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shrike mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae which are known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shrike in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pie-grièche |
| German | Würger |
| Portuguese | picanço |
| Spanish | alcaudón, verdugo |
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 shrike come from?
From Middle English *schrike, *schryke, from Old English sċrīc (“shrike, thrush”), from the same root as shriek and screech, named after the bird's cry. Compare Icelandic skríkja (“shrieker, shrike”), Swedish skrika (“jay”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).