wasp
/wɑsp/noun, verb
wasp is spelled W-A-S-P: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, wasp means “Any of many types of stinging flying insect resembling a hornet” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wasp is wasps.
How many letters and syllables are in wasp?
| Letters | 4: W-A-S-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,297th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is wasp?
Wasp appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th 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 wasp?
- UK /wɒsp/
- US /wɑsp/
- /waps/
Wasp has one syllable (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: En-us-wasp.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with wasp?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as wasp (/ɑsp/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: swap, paws.
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 wasp
- wasps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- waps
- wasping participle, present
- wasped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wasp mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of many types of stinging flying insect resembling a hornet.
- 2
Any of the members of suborder Apocrita, excepting the ants (family Formicidae) and bees (clade Anthophila).
- 3
Any of the members of the family Vespidae.
- 4
A person who behaves in an angry or insolent way, hence waspishly.
- 5
Alternative letter-case form of WASP (“white Anglo-Saxon Protestant”).
verb
- 1
To move like a wasp; to buzz.
noun
- 1
USAcronym of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, a member of the supposed ruling class of America.
- 2
Initialism of Women Airforce Service Pilots.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of WASP.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wasp in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense insect:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | guêpe |
| German | Wespe |
| Portuguese | vespa, marimbondo |
| Spanish | avispa |
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 wasp come from?
Inherited from Middle English wappes, waps, wasp, waspe, from Old English wæfs, wæps, wæsp, from Proto-West Germanic *wapsu, from Proto-Germanic *wapsō (“wasp”), from Proto-Indo-European *wóbʰseh₂ (“wasp”), from *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”), referring to the insect's woven nests.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).