smew
/ˈsmjuː/noun
smew is spelled S-M-E-W: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 83 million words in written English, the 290,185th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, smew means “A small compact diving duck, Mergellus albellus, that breeds in the northern taiga of Europe and Asia and winters on sheltered coasts or inland lakes” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of smew is smews.
How many letters and syllables are in smew?
| Letters | 4: S-M-E-W |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 83 million words; the 290,185th 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 smew?
Smew appears about once in every 83 million words in written English, the 290,185th 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 smew?
- /ˈsmjuː/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-smew.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with smew?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as smew.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: mews.
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 smew
- smews plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does smew mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small compact diving duck, Mergellus albellus, that breeds in the northern taiga of Europe and Asia and winters on sheltered coasts or inland lakes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Smew in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Mergus albellus:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | harle piette |
| German | Zwergsäger |
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 smew come from?
Origin unknown. In use since the 17th century.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).