Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wise guy

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.46 in modern English

Syllables: wise guy
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One who is insolent or flippant; one who makes jokes or perpetrates pranks.

Derogatory; Humorous; Informal

noun

A knowledgeable or successful sports bettor.

Slang

noun

A member of the Mafia; a mobster.

American usage; Slang

noun

Slang

noun

An Italian-American man.

Offensive; Slang

Example Sentences

"Her reputation for being a wise guy made her new teachers hesitant about having her in their classes."
"Leiter wound down a window. 'Whaddya want ter do?' asked the driver over his shoulder. 'Gimme pneumony?' 'Just that,' said Leiter, 'if it means saving us from this gas chamber.' 'Wise guy, hn?' said the driver, crashing tinnily through his gears."

Usage

Inflected Forms

wise guys (plural)

Synonyms

Mafioso know-all know-it-all smart aleck smarty wisecracker wisenheimer

Questions

What does wise guy mean?: One who is insolent or flippant; one who makes jokes or perpetrates pranks.

How to pronounce wise guy

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wise guy”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “wise guy” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.