slither
slith·er/ˈslɪðə/verb, noun
slither is spelled S-L-I-T-H-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables (slith·er). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, slither means “To move about smoothly and from side to side” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in slither?
| Letters | 7: S-L-I-T-H-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: slith·er |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 51,129th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is slither?
Slither 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 slither?
- UK /ˈslɪðə/
- /ˈsləðə/
- /ˈslɪvə/
Slither has 2 syllables, split slith·er in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-slither.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with slither
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of slither
- slithers present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- slithering participle, present
- slithered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does slither mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To move about smoothly and from side to side.
- 2
To slide.
noun
- 1
A limestone rubble.
- 2
nonstandardA sliver.
- 3
A group of snakes.
adjective
- 1
archaicSlithery; slippery.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Slither in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ramper, glisser en ondulant , glisser, se faufiler |
| Portuguese | rastejar, serpear, serpentear, serpentar, zigue-zaguear, ondear |
| Spanish | reptar, ratear , deslizarse |
| German | schlittern, rutschen |
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 slither come from?
From Middle English slitheren, alteration of slideren (“to slither, creep”), from Old English slidrian (“to slip, slide, slither”), from Proto-West Germanic *slidrōn (“to slide, slither”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃sleydʰ- (“to slip”), equivalent to slide + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Dutch slidderen (“to slip, wriggle, slither”), German schlittern (“to slither, skid”). More at slide.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).