acerb
/əˈsɜːb/
"acerb" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“acerb” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sour, bitter, and harsh to the taste, such as unripe fruit.
Corpus desk
Index EN-acerb · acerb · English
acerb · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | acerb |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /əˈsɜːb/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “acerb” in English
Rare enough to double-check
acerb is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /əˈsɜːb/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
acerb has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin acerbus, from Latin ācer (“sharp”): compare French acerbe. See acrid. The correct English form is acerb, spelled A-C-E-R-B.
Definition
- 1Sour, bitter, and harsh to the taste, such as unripe fruit.
- 2Sharp and harsh in expressing oneself.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how acerb appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
If you put Spirit of Sulphur to the Peruvian Bark, it then becomes very acerb. If you mix Mercury with Spirit of Nitre or Oil of Vitriol whilst it boils, it then is very acerb.
As to the somewhat acerb remarks of the member for Jacques Cartier, I may pass them over […]
Etymology
From Latin acerbus, from Latin ācer (“sharp”): compare French acerbe. See acrid.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.