Meanings
plural kikes · alternative kyke
- USethnicoffensiveslangslurvulgarA Jew.
My stepdad is always on some bullshit about kikes controlling the weather or something.
3 more examples
"Now you quit kidding me! What's the nice little name?" "Oh, it ain't so darn nice. I guess it's kind of kike. But my folks ain't kikes. My papa's papa was a nobleman in Poland, and there was a gentleman in here one day, he was kind of a count or something--"
1922, Sinclair Lewis, “24”, in BabbittIn one tweet, Weisman was referred to as a "kike." Another threatened to have him put "in the oven."
2016 June 8, Tom Kludt, “New York Times editor quits Twitter over anti-Semitic tweets”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2025Potok in case you don’t know, is a devious kike who works for the Southern Poverty Law Center which is a notorious anti-White hate group.
2019 February 2, “SPLC Kike Mark Potok Tracks America’s Declining White Population”, in Infostormer, archived from the original on 12 Jun 2025 - USoffensiveslangvulgarA miser; a contemptible, stingy person, particularly a well-endowed one.
That greedy kike would not give me any money when I was starving and needed food.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:miser
- JudaismUSethnicobsoleteoffensiveslangslurvulgarAn Eastern European Jew.
The German Jews are bitterly opposed to the "Kikes," as they persist in calling the Russian Jews.
1912, Report of the National Conference of Jewish Charities in the United States, Cleveland
present singular third person kikes · participle present kiking · participle past kiked · past kiked · alternative kyke
- offensiveslangtransitiveuncommonTo haggle or swindle in order to obtain a better deal from.
comparative more kike · superlative most kike · alternative kyke
- datedderogatoryethnicoffensiveslangslurJewish.
If you repeat that lie, I'll wring that skinny kike neck of yours with my own hands!
1956, David Karp, All Honorable Men, page 74 - datedderogatoryethnicoffensiveslangslurOf goods or manufacturing, poor-quality.
She had on a kike hat from a Division Street department store, of one department - the dollar down and a dollar a week department - and a shirtwaist with green and yellow stripes that would drive you dippy.
1904, Roy Larcom McCardell, The Show Girl and Her Friends, page 170
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA miser; a contemptible, stingy person, particularly a well-endowed one.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
- Proto-Indo-European*kʷékʷlos
- Proto-Hellenic*kʷókʷlos
- Proto-Hellenic*kúklos
- Ancient Greekκύκλος (kúklos)
- Yiddishקײַקל (kaykl)der.?
- Englishkike
Originally used by German-American Jews as a slur for Eastern European Jews immigrating to the United States. The most dominant theory is from Yiddish קײַקל (kaykl, “circle”). In the early 20th century, non-English-speaking Jews that immigrated to the United States would sign papers with a circle as opposed to a more common X, in order to avoid using a symbol reminiscent of a Christian Cross. If so, a doublet of chakra, chakram, charkha, chukker, cycle, cyclus, and wheel. Other theories also exist, in particular a contraction from the documented phrase “Ikey-Kikey”, an American-origin reduplication of ikey, which in turn is a British-English pejorative for Jews after the prevalence of the name Isaac. Alternatively, from Scots keek (“to peek or peep surreptitiously”), used in the New York City clothing industry to refer to the practice of sending spies to work in competing garment factories to copy designs which would then be reproduced and sold at lower cost. Eastern European Jews played a major role in the clothing industry and were perceived to frequently participate in underhanded business tactics. Originally mostly used by older, established German Jews to refer to the Eastern European newcomers, eventually it became generalized to all Jews.
More words from Yiddish, Scots
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian чифу́т, чифу́тин
- чифу́т (čifút)offensive: Jewish person
- чифу́тин (čifútin)offensive: Jewish person
Chinese Mandarin 猶太佬 /犹太佬
- 猶太佬 /犹太佬 (Yóutàilǎo)offensive: Jewish person
Danish jødesmovs, smovs
- jødesmovsoffensive: Jewish person
- smovsoffensive: Jewish person
Dutch neus, kankerjood
- neusoffensive: Jewish person
- kankerjoodoffensive: Jewish person
- smousoffensive: Jewish person
Esperanto judaĉo
- judaĉooffensive: Jewish person
Finnish jutsku, jutku
- jutskuoffensive: Jewish person
- jutkuoffensive: Jewish person
French youpin, youde
- youpinoffensive: Jewish person
- youdeoffensive: Jewish person
- youtreoffensive: Jewish person
German Itzig, Jid
- Itzigoffensive: Jewish person
- Jidoffensive: Jewish person
- Krummnaseoffensive: Jewish person
- Mauscheloffensive: Jewish person
- Judensauoffensive: Jewish person
- Saujudeoffensive: Jewish person
Hebrew יְהוּדוֹן
- יְהוּדוֹן (yehudon)offensive: Jewish person
Icelandic júði
- júðioffensive: Jewish person
Japanese カイク
- カイクoffensive: Jewish person
Korean both North and South Korean
- both North and South Koreanoffensive: Jewish person
Latvian žīds
- žīdsoffensive: Jewish person
Persian جهود
- جهود (johud)offensive: Jewish person
Polish icek, mosiek
- icekoffensive: Jewish person
- mosiekoffensive: Jewish person
- parchoffensive: Jewish person
- żydekoffensive: Jewish person
- Żydziskooffensive: Jewish person
- gudłajoffensive: Jewish person
- pejsatyoffensive: Jewish person
Romanian jidan, jidov
- jidanoffensive: Jewish person
- jidovoffensive: Jewish person
- târtanoffensive: Jewish person
Russian жид, жидо́вка
- жид (žid)offensive: Jewish person
- жидо́вка (židóvka)offensive: Jewish person
- жидо́к (židók)offensive: Jewish person
Slovak žid, židovka
- židoffensive: Jewish person
- židovkaoffensive: Jewish person
Spanish judigüelo, judihuelo
- judigüelooffensive: Jewish person
- judihuelooffensive: Jewish person
Swedish judejävel, judesvin
- judejäveloffensive: Jewish person
- judesvinoffensive: Jewish person
Turkish Çıfıt
- Çıfıtoffensive: Jewish person
Yiddish זשיד
- זשיד (zhid)offensive: Jewish person
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with kike
Anagrams
Cite this entry
kike. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kike
“kike.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kike. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kike,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kike.
Source: kike on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.