yawl
/jɔl/noun, verb
yawl is spelled Y-A-W-L: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, yawl means “A small ship's boat, usually rowed by four or six oars” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of yawl is yawls.
How many letters and syllables are in yawl?
| Letters | 4: Y-A-W-L |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 90,432nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is yawl?
Yawl appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd 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 yawl?
- UK /jɔːl/
- US /jɔl/
- /jɑl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-yawl.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with yawl
Sounds like: y'all (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with yawl?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as yawl from its last stressed vowel (/ɔl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: waly.
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 yawl
- yawls plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- yawling participle, present
- yawled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does yawl mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small ship's boat, usually rowed by four or six oars.
- 2
A fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel with two masts, main and mizzen, the mizzen stepped abaft the rudder post.
verb
- 1
To cry out; to howl.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Yawl in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense sailing vessel:
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 yawl come from?
Apparently from Low German and Middle Low German jolle, or Dutch jol, possibly ultimately from a Proto-Germanic derivative of Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewlos (“tube”), see also Lithuanian aulas, Norwegian aul, Hittite [script needed] (auli-, “tube-shaped organ in the neck”), Albanian hollë, Latin alvus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).