woodcock
/ˈwʊd.kɒk/noun
woodcock is spelled W-O-O-D-C-O-C-K: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, woodcock means “Any of several wading birds in the genus Scolopax, characterised by a long slender bill and cryptic brown and blackish plumage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of woodcock is woodcocks.
How many letters and syllables are in woodcock?
| Letters | 8: W-O-O-D-C-O-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th 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 woodcock?
Woodcock appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th 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 woodcock?
- /ˈwʊd.kɒk/
Woodcock 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-woodcock.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of woodcock
- woodcocks plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does woodcock mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of several wading birds in the genus Scolopax, characterised by a long slender bill and cryptic brown and blackish plumage.
- 2
A simpleton.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Woodcock in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense wading bird in the genus Scolopax:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bécasse |
| German | Waldschnepfe |
| Portuguese | galinhola |
| Spanish | chocha, chochaperdiz |
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 woodcock come from?
From Middle English wodecocke, wode-koc, wodekok, from Old English wudecocc, wuducoc, equivalent to wood + cock.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).