whimper
whim·per/ˈwɪmpə/noun, verb
whimper is spelled W-H-I-M-P-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables (whim·per). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,154th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, whimper means “A low intermittent sob” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of whimper is whimpers.
How many letters and syllables are in whimper?
| Letters | 7: W-H-I-M-P-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: whim·per |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 41,154th 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 whimper?
Whimper appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,154th 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 whimper?
- /ˈwɪmpə/
- [ˈwɪmpʰə]
- /ˈʍɪmpə/
Whimper has 2 syllables, split whim·per in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-whimper.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of whimper
- whimpers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- whimpering participle, present
- whimpered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does whimper mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A low intermittent sob.
verb
- 1
To cry or sob softly and intermittently.
The lonely puppy began to whimper as soon as we left the room.
- 2
To cry with a low, whining, broken voice; to whine; to complain.
- 3
To say something in a whimpering manner.
“Master, please don’t punish me!” he whimpered.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Whimper in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gémissement , gémir, pleurnicher |
| German | Wimmern, Gewimmer, Winseln, Schluchzen , wimmern, winseln |
| Spanish | gimoteo , lloriquear |
| Portuguese | choramingar |
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 whimper come from?
From dialectal whimp (“to whine”) + -er (frequentative suffix). Compare German wimmern (“to whimper, whine”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).