Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

quirt

/kwɚt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.58 in modern English

Syllables: quirt
IPA: /kwɚt/

14

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A rawhide whip plaited with two thongs of buffalo hide.

verb

To strike with a quirt.

Example Sentences

"He sprang into the saddle easily as a bird, got the quirt from the horn, and gave his pony a slash with it."
"He paused a moment and flicked a sage-brush with his quirt."
"[…] when the young man whirled his horse, “hazed” Jupiter in circles and belaboured him with a rawhide quirt, […] He ceased his cavortings […]"
"No gunshot wounds, Barricune observed, but marks of kicks, and couple that must have been made with a quirt."
"He wore a revolver down low, with ammunition belt, and carried a small quirt of some kind, and pieces of leather hanging everywhere, like a walking torture chamber: shiny shoes, low-hanging jacket, cocky hat, everything but boots."
"She raised the handle of her beautiful quirt to her eyes and scanned the Western horizon."

Etymology

From Spanish cuerda (“cord”), or Mexican Spanish cuarta (“whip”).

Origin

Source language: Spanish

Word Breakdown

Root: cuerda, cuarta

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /kwɚt/
British English: /kwɜːt/

Inflected Forms

quirts (plural) quirts (present, singular) quirting (participle, present) quirted (participle, past) quirted (past)

Synonyms

whip

Rhymes With

hurt shirt expert concert desert alert red alert dirt convert insert skirt kurt

Questions

How do you pronounce quirt?: The recorded pronunciation is /kwɚt/.
What does quirt mean?: A rawhide whip plaited with two thongs of buffalo hide.
Where does quirt come from?: It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce quirt

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “quirt”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/kwɚt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “quirt”.
Repeat and practice — Say “quirt” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.