walrus
wal·rus/ˈwɔːl.ɹəs/noun, verb
walrus is spelled W-A-L-R-U-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables (wal·rus). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, walrus means “A large Arctic pinniped having long tusks, tough, wrinkled skin, and four flippers, Odobenus rosmarus” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of walrus is walruses or walrusses; Wiktionary also lists walri (humorous).
How many letters and syllables are in walrus?
| Letters | 6: W-A-L-R-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: wal·rus |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th 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 walrus?
Walrus appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th 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 walrus?
- UK /ˈwɔːl.ɹəs/
- UK /ˈwɒl.ɹəs/
- British /ˈwoːl.ɹəs/
Walrus has 2 syllables, split wal·rus in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Pvanp7-walrus.wav, En-au-walrus.ogg, En-us-walrus.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of walrus
- walruses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- walrusses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- walrii plural
- walrusing participle, present
- walrussing participle, present
- walrused participle, past
- walrussed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does walrus mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A large Arctic pinniped having long tusks, tough, wrinkled skin, and four flippers, Odobenus rosmarus.
- 2
derogatoryinformalA man with a walrus moustache.
verb
- 1
To hunt walruses
- 2
To move dragging one's belly along the floor
- 3
To hang like a walrus's moustache
- 4
To be prominent, like tusks
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Walrus in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense large Arctic marine mammal:
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 walrus come from?
Probably borrowed from Dutch walrus, a compound of wal (“whale”) and ros (“horse”). Displaced native Old English horshwæl (literally “horse-whale”). Compare similar constructions in Danish hvalros, Old Norse hrosshvalr, and German Walross.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).