sprinkle
/ˈspɹɪŋkəl/verb, noun
sprinkle is spelled S-P-R-I-N-K-L-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, sprinkle means “To cause (a substance) to fall in fine drops (for a liquid substance) or small pieces (for a solid substance)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sprinkle?
| Letters | 8: S-P-R-I-N-K-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sprinkle?
Sprinkle appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd 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 sprinkle?
- /ˈspɹɪŋkəl/
Sprinkle has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sprinkle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sprinkle
- sprinkles present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- sprinkling participle, present
- sprinkled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sprinkle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cause (a substance) to fall in fine drops (for a liquid substance) or small pieces (for a solid substance).
The confectioner sprinkled icing sugar over the cakes.
- 2
To cover (an object) by sprinkling a substance on to it.
The confectioner sprinkled the cakes with icing sugar.
- 3
To drip in fine drops, sometimes sporadically.
It sprinkled outside all day long.
- 4
To rain very lightly outside.
It sprinkled very early in the morning.
- 5
To baptize by the application of a few drops, or a small quantity, of water; hence, to cleanse; to purify.
noun
- 1
A light covering with a sprinkled substance.
He decorated the Christmas card with a sprinkle of glitter.
- 2
A light rain shower.
- 3
An aspersorium or utensil for sprinkling.
- 4
A small hard piece of sugar and starch, or chocolate, used to decorate cakes etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate sprinkle?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of sprinkle: spkl..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sprinkle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | saupoudrer, asperger , crachin |
| German | sprühen , Nieselregen , besprühen , nieseln |
| Portuguese | espirrar , salpicar, polvilhar |
| Spanish | salpicar, rociar, asperjar , llovizna , espolvorear , lloviznar |
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 sprinkle come from?
From Middle English sprenkelen, sprynklen, from Middle Dutch sprenkelen, equivalent to sprink + -le (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Dutch sprenkelen (“to sprinkle”), German Low German sprenkeln (“to sprinkle; dapple”), German sprenkeln (“to sprinkle”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).