yelp
/jɛlp/noun, verb
yelp is spelled Y-E-L-P: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, yelp means “An abrupt, high-pitched noise or utterance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of yelp is yelps.
How many letters and syllables are in yelp?
| Letters | 4: Y-E-L-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,906th 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 yelp?
Yelp appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th 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 yelp?
- /jɛlp/
Yelp 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-yelp.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of yelp
- yelps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- yelping participle, present
- yelped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does yelp mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An abrupt, high-pitched noise or utterance.
The puppy let out a yelp when I stepped on her tail.
- 2
A type of emergency vehicle siren sounding quicker and more intense than the wail.
verb
- 1
To utter an abrupt, high-pitched noise.
The children yelped with delight as they played in the cold water.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Yelp in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | jappement, couinement , japper, couiner |
| Portuguese | ganido , ganir |
| Spanish | aullido, trino, quejido , gañir |
| German | kreischen |
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 yelp come from?
From Middle English ȝelp, yelp, from Old English ġielp (“boasting, arrogance, pride”), from Proto-West Germanic *gelp, from Proto-Germanic *gelpą (“boasting”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- (“to shout”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).