sideburns
/ˈsaɪd.bɚnz/noun
sideburns is spelled S-I-D-E-B-U-R-N-S: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sideburns means “Facial hair reaching from the top of the head down the side of the face to the side of the chin” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sideburns?
| Letters | 9: S-I-D-E-B-U-R-N-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 51,129th 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 sideburns?
Sideburns appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th 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 sideburns?
- UK /ˈsaɪd.bɜː(ɹ)nz/
- US /ˈsaɪd.bɚnz/
Sideburns has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sideburns.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sideburns
- sideburn singular
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sideburns mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Facial hair reaching from the top of the head down the side of the face to the side of the chin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sideburns in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense facial hair reaching from the top of the head down the side of the face to the s:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | favoris, rouflaquettes |
| German | Koteletten, Backenbart, Seitenhaare |
| Portuguese | patilhas, costeletas |
| Spanish | patillas |
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 sideburns come from?
Reformed from burnside, named after American Army general Ambrose Burnside (1824–1881), noted for his unusual facial hair.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).