noun

kike

kyk

noun

A highly offensive ethnic slur used against Jewish people.

"The word is a slur and should not be used; it is included here only as a matter of lexicographic record."

How to Use Kike

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA deeply offensive slur targeting Jewish people. It carries no neutral use.

When to use it

This is a slur, not a neutral descriptive term. It appears in dictionaries purely for reference and historical/linguistic documentation, never as a suggested or acceptable usage.

Word Forms

more kike comparative, kiked past tense, kikes plural, kikes singular, most kike superlative

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Etymology

Origins are disputed. One theory traces it to Yiddish קײַקל (kaykl, "circle"): early 20th-century Jewish immigrants to the US who could not write in Latin script reportedly signed documents with a circle rather than an X, to avoid anything resembling a cross. Other theories point to a contraction of the phrase "Ikey-Kikey" or to Scots keek ("to peek"), tied to clothing-industry espionage. No theory is universally accepted.

Rhymes for kike

Ike bike mike Nike like dike hike pike alike spike strike unlike

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