smidgen
smidg·en/ˈsmɪd͡ʒɪn/noun
smidgen is spelled S-M-I-D-G-E-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables (smidg·en). It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 67,454th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, smidgen means “Chiefly in the form a smidgen of: a very small amount or quantity; a bit, a trace” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of smidgen is smidgens.
How many letters and syllables are in smidgen?
| Letters | 7: S-M-I-D-G-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: smidg·en |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 67,454th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 smidgen?
Smidgen appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 67,454th 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 smidgen?
- UK /ˈsmɪd͡ʒɪn/
- US /ˈsmɪd͡ʒɪn/
- US /-ən/
Smidgen has 2 syllables, split smidg·en in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-smidgen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with smidgen?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as smidgen from its last stressed vowel (/ɪdʒɪn/):
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 smidgen
- smidgens plural
- smidgeon
- smidgin
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does smidgen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalChiefly in the form a smidgen of: a very small amount or quantity; a bit, a trace.
Move it a smidgen to the right.
- 2
informalChiefly in the form a smidgen of a: a very small or insignificant person or thing; also, an instance of such a person or thing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Smidgen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense very small amount or quantity:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chouïa |
| German | Quäntchen, Quentchen |
| Portuguese | bocadinho, cadinho, chichizinho, nadinha, poucochinho, pouquinho |
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 smidgen come from?
Origin uncertain; possibly from smitch (“(originally Scotland, chiefly US) very small amount or quantity”) + possibly -in (a variant of -ing (suffix forming nouns denoting things considered collectively)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).