shrimp
/ʃɹɪmp/noun, verb
shrimp is spelled S-H-R-I-M-P: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 6.2 times per million words in written English, the 9,735th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shrimp means “Any of many swimming, often edible, crustaceans, chiefly of the infraorder Caridea or the suborder Dendrobranchiata, with slender legs, long whiskers…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shrimp is shrimps.
How many letters and syllables are in shrimp?
| Letters | 6: S-H-R-I-M-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 6.2 times per million words; the 9,735th 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 shrimp?
Shrimp appears 6.2 times per million words in written English, the 9,735th 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 shrimp?
- /ʃɹɪmp/
Shrimp has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-shrimp.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shrimp
- shrimps US, plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- shrimping participle, present
- shrimped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shrimp mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of many swimming, often edible, crustaceans, chiefly of the infraorder Caridea or the suborder Dendrobranchiata, with slender legs, long whiskers and a long abdomen.
- 2
The flesh of such crustaceans.
- 3
slangA small, puny or unimportant person.
- 4
slangSynonym of butterface
- 5
derogatoryslangA small penis.
shrimp dick
verb
- 1
To fish for shrimp.
- 2
To contract; to shrink.
noun
- 1
Acronym of sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe.
noun
- 1
A player, supporter or other person connected with Morecambe Football Club.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shrimp in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | crevette |
| German | Garnele, Shrimp, Krabbe |
| Portuguese | camarão , gamba |
| Spanish | camarón, gamba, langostino, cámaro, esquila, quisquilla |
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 shrimp come from?
From Middle English schrimpe (“shrimp, puny person”), possibly from or related to Middle Low German schrempen (“to wrinkle”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skrimpaz (“shrivelled”), from Proto-Germanic *skrimpaną (“to shrivel”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerbʰ-.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).