snicker
/ˈsnɪk.ə(ɹ)/
"snicker" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“snicker” is an uncommon English word, ranked #54,494 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #54,494
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A stifled or broken laugh.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | snicker |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsnɪk.ə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #54,494 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “snicker” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for snicker is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsnɪk.ə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #54,494 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A stifled or broken laugh.".
No misspelling variants are generated for snicker in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: US variant of the British snigger, possibly of onomatopoeic origin, similar to Dutch snikken (“to gasp; sob”). The noun is first recorded 1836, from the verb. Compare also Scottish smicker (“to smile or laugh in a sniggering or leery way, smirk”). More at s… The correct English form is snicker, spelled S-N-I-C-K-E-R.
Definition
- 1A stifled or broken laugh.
Etymology
US variant of the British snigger, possibly of onomatopoeic origin, similar to Dutch snikken (“to gasp; sob”). The noun is first recorded 1836, from the verb. Compare also Scottish smicker (“to smile or laugh in a sniggering or leery way, smirk”). More at smicker.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “snicker”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-N-I-C-K-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsnɪk.ə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.