whist
/wɪst/noun, interjection, verb, adjective
whist is spelled W-H-I-S-T: 5 letters. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, whist means “Any of several four-player card games, similar to bridge” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of whist is whists.
How many letters and syllables are in whist?
| Letters | 5: W-H-I-S-T |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 59,387th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is whist?
Whist appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th 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 whist?
- /wɪst/
- /ʍɪst/
- [ˈw̥ɪst]
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-whist.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with whist
Sounds like: wist (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with whist?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as whist.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: swith.
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 whist
- whists plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- whisting participle, present
- whisted participle, past
- more whist comparative
- most whist superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does whist mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of several four-player card games, similar to bridge.
- 2
A session of playing this card game.
interjection
- 1
Alternative spelling of whisht. Silence!, quiet!, hush!, shhh!, shush!
- 2
Onomatopoeia for slicing.
verb
- 1
rareTo hush or shush; to still.
- 2
rareTo become silent.
adjective
- 1
rareSilent, hushed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Whist in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense card game:
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 whist come from?
Alteration of whisk, perhaps so called from the notion of “whisking” up cards after each trick. Altered perhaps on assumption that the word was an interjection invoking silence, by influence of whist (“silent”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).