winkle
/ˈwɪŋkəl/noun, verb
winkle is spelled W-I-N-K-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. 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, winkle means “A periwinkle or its shell, of family Littorinidae” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of winkle is winkles.
How many letters and syllables are in winkle?
| Letters | 6: W-I-N-K-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 41,154th 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 winkle?
Winkle 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 winkle?
- /ˈwɪŋkəl/
Winkle has 2 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-winkle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with winkle?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as winkle.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: welkin.
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 winkle
- winkles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- winkling participle, present
- winkled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does winkle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A periwinkle or its shell, of family Littorinidae.
- 2
Any one of various marine spiral gastropods, especially, in the United States, either of two species Busycotypus canaliculatus or Busycon carica.
- 3
slangThe penis, especially that of a child rather than that of an adult.
verb
- 1
Synonym of winkle out (“to acquire or extract with difficulty”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Winkle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense children's slang: the penis:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | zizi |
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 winkle come from?
Ellipsis of periwinkle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).