withers
with·ers/ˈwɪð.ɚz/noun, verb
withers is spelled W-I-T-H-E-R-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables (with·ers). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, withers means “The part of the back of a four-legged animal that is between the shoulder blades; in many species the highest point of the body and the standard…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in withers?
| Letters | 7: W-I-T-H-E-R-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: with·ers |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th 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 withers?
Withers appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th 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 withers?
- US /ˈwɪð.ɚz/
- UK /ˈwɪð.əz/
Withers has 2 syllables, split with·ers in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-withers.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of withers
- wither singular
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does withers mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The part of the back of a four-legged animal that is between the shoulder blades; in many species the highest point of the body and the standard place to measure the animal's height.
verb
- 1
third-person singular simple present indicative of wither
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Withers in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense part of the back of an animal:
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 withers come from?
From dialectal English wither (“against”) (compare wither-) + -s; see with. So-named because it is the part of the horse that pushes against a load. Compare German Widerrist (“withers”), from wider (“against”) + Rist (“wrist”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).