witch
/wɪt͡ʃ/noun, verb
witch is spelled W-I-T-C-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “which vs witch” about 1,300 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, witch means “A person (now usually particularly a woman) who uses magical or similar supernatural powers to influence or predict events, particularly one with…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of witch is witches.
How many letters and syllables are in witch?
| Letters | 5: W-I-T-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,957th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is witch?
Witch appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th 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 witch?
- /wɪt͡ʃ/
Witch 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-witch.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with witch
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: which, wych (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of witch
- witches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- witching participle, present
- witched participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does witch mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person (now usually particularly a woman) who uses magical or similar supernatural powers to influence or predict events, particularly one with malicious motives.
- 2
A person who follows Wicca or similar New Age pagan beliefs.
- 3
derogatoryAn ugly or unpleasant woman.
I hate that old witch.
- 4
One who exercises more-than-common power of attraction; a charming or bewitching person.
- 5
One given to mischief, especially a woman or child.
- 6
A certain curve of the third order, described by Maria Agnesi under the name versiera.
- 7
A storm petrel.
- 8
Glyptocephalus cynoglossus (witch flounder or Torbay sole), found in the North Atlantic.
- 9
A cone of paper which is placed in a vessel of lard or other fat and used as a taper.
- 10
A bitch.
verb
- 1
To dowse for water.
- 2
obsoleteTo practise witchcraft.
- 3
To bewitch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Witch in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sorcière, stryge , harpie |
| German | Hexe, Gabelreiterin, Hexer, Hexenmeister |
| Portuguese | bruxa, estria, estrige, feiticeira |
| Spanish | bruja, hechicera, maga |
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 witch come from?
The noun is from Middle English wicche, from Old English wiċċe (“(female) witch; sorceress”) and wiċċa (“(male) witch; sorcerer; warlock”), deverbative from wiċċian (“to practice sorcery”), from Proto-Germanic *wikkōną (compare West Frisian wikje, wikke (“to foretell; to warn”), German Low German wicken (“to soothsay”), Dutch wikken, wichelen (“to dowse; to divine”
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).