Wettrüsten

[ˈvɛtˌʁʏstən]

/[ˈvɛtˌʁʏstən]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Wettrüsten” is uncommon German (frequency #60,254 among 38,697 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,254
frequency rank, German
38,697
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - wechselseitige Steigerung zweier Staaten oder Staatenbünde in ihren Anstrengungen militärischer Übermacht zu gewinnen, besonders durch mehr Waffen und bessere Militärtechnologie

Key facts for Wettrüsten
PropertyValue
HeadwordWettrüsten
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈvɛtˌʁʏstən]
Letters10
Frequency rank#60,254
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Wettrüsten” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Wettrüsten lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Wettrüsten is uncommon German at frequency #60,254 among 38,697 “W” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈvɛtˌʁʏstən]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "wechselseitige Steigerung zweier Staaten oder Staatenbünde in ihren Anstrengungen militärischer Übermacht zu gewinnen, besonders durch mehr Waffen und bessere Militärtechnologie".

No generated misspelling entries exist for Wettrüsten in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is Wettrüsten, spelled W-E-T-T-R-Ü-S-T-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    wechselseitige Steigerung zweier Staaten oder Staatenbünde in ihren Anstrengungen militärischer Übermacht zu gewinnen, besonders durch mehr Waffen und bessere Militärtechnologie

Synonyms

Rüstungswettlauf

This word in other languages

arms race(English)course aux armements(Français)corrida armamentista(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Wettrüsten"?
"Wettrüsten" is spelled W-E-T-T-R-Ü-S-T-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈvɛtˌʁʏstən].
What does "Wettrüsten" mean?
As a noun, "Wettrüsten" means: wechselseitige Steigerung zweier Staaten oder Staatenbünde in ihren Anstrengungen militärischer Übermacht zu gewinnen, besonders durch mehr Waffen und bessere Militärtechnologie
How do you pronounce "Wettrüsten"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Wettrüsten" is [ˈvɛtˌʁʏstən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Wettrüsten" come from?
"Wettrüsten" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “Wettrüsten”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is W-E-T-T-R-Ü-S-T-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈvɛtˌʁʏstən] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list