whodunit
/ˌhuːˈdʌn.ɪt/noun
whodunit is spelled W-H-O-D-U-N-I-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 72,332nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, whodunit means “A novel or drama concerning a crime (usually a murder) in which a detective follows clues to determine the perpetrator” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of whodunit is whodunits.
How many letters and syllables are in whodunit?
| Letters | 8: W-H-O-D-U-N-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 72,332nd 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 whodunit?
Whodunit appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 72,332nd 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 whodunit?
- US /ˌhuːˈdʌn.ɪt/
Whodunit has 3 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: En-au-whodunit.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of whodunit
- whodunits plural
- whodunnit
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does whodunit mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A novel or drama concerning a crime (usually a murder) in which a detective follows clues to determine the perpetrator.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Whodunit in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a crime novel or drama:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | roman policier |
| German | Kriminalroman, Krimi, Detektivroman |
| Portuguese | romance criminal |
| Spanish | novela policíaca, novela policial |
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 whodunit come from?
Coined by critic Donald Gordon in 1930. An alteration and univerbation of who done it? with ellipsis of has.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).