spatchcock
spatch·cock/ˈspæt͡ʃˌkɑk/noun, verb
spatchcock is spelled S-P-A-T-C-H-C-O-C-K: 10 letters and 2 syllables (spatch·cock). It appears about once in every 36 million words in written English, the 184,844th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, spatchcock means “Poultry which has been cut along the spine and spread out for more even cooking” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of spatchcock is spatchcocks.
How many letters and syllables are in spatchcock?
| Letters | 10: S-P-A-T-C-H-C-O-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: spatch·cock |
| In writing | about once in every 36 million words; the 184,844th 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 spatchcock?
Spatchcock appears about once in every 36 million words in written English, the 184,844th 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 spatchcock?
- UK /ˈspæt͡ʃkɒk/
- US /ˈspæt͡ʃˌkɑk/
Spatchcock has 2 syllables, split spatch·cock in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-spatchcock.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of spatchcock
- spatchcocks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- spatchcocking participle, present
- spatchcocked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spatchcock mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Poultry which has been cut along the spine and spread out for more even cooking.
verb
- 1
To cut (poultry) along the spine and spread the halves apart for more even cooking.
For the party, he spatchcocked and grilled some chickens.
- 2
Often followed by in or into: to interpolate or insert (something into another thing) awkwardly; to sandwich (something within another thing).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spatchcock in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense poultry cut along the spine and spread out:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | crapaudine |
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.