abet
/əˈbɛt/verb
abet is spelled A-B-E-T: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, abet means “To incite; to assist or encourage by aid or countenance in crime” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in abet?
| Letters | 4: A-B-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 58,714th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is abet?
Abet appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce abet?
- /əˈbɛt/
Abet has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-ca-abet.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with abet?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as abet.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: beat, beta, bate.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of abet
- abets present, singular, he/she/it
- abetting participle, present
- abetted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does abet mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To incite; to assist or encourage by aid or countenance in crime.
aid and abet
- 2
To support, countenance, maintain, uphold, or aid (any good cause, opinion, or action).
- 3
obsoleteTo urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable.
- 4
obsoleteTo back up one's forecast of a doubtful issue, by staking money, etc., to bet.
noun
- 1
obsoleteFraud or cunning.
- 2
obsoleteAn act of abetting; of helping; of giving aid.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Abet in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | encourager |
| German | ermutigen, aufhetzen, anstiften , stützen, helfen |
| Portuguese | incitar, instigar , assistir, ajudar |
| Spanish | incitar , ayudar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does abet come from?
From Middle English abetten, abette, from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”), either from Middle Dutch bētan (“incite”) or from Old Norse beita (“to cause to bite, bait, incite”), from Proto-Germanic *baitijaną (“to cause to bite”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). Cognate with Icelandic beita (“to set dogs on; to feed”). Alternate etymology traces the Middle English and Old French words through Old English *ābǣtan (“to hound on”), from ā- + bǣtan (“to bait”), from the same source (Proto-Germanic *baitijaną). See also bait, bet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).