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PlainSpell

add

/æd/verb, noun

add is spelled A-D-D: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 123 times per million words in written English, the 851st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “ad vs add” about 590 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, add means “To join or unite (e.g. one thing to another, or as several particulars) so as to increase the number, augment the quantity, or enlarge the magnitude…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in add?

Letters3: A-D-D
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing123 times per million words; the 851st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is add?

Add appears 123 times per million words in written English, the 851st 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 add?

  • /æd/

Add has one syllable (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-us-add.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with add

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

ad vs add590 G

Sounds like: ad (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with add?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as add.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: dad.

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 add

  • adds present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • adding participle, present
  • added participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does add mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To join or unite (e.g. one thing to another, or as several particulars) so as to increase the number, augment the quantity, or enlarge the magnitude, or so as to form into one aggregate.

  2. 2

    To sum up; to put together mentally; to add up.

    to add numbers

  3. 3

    To combine elements of (something) into one quantity.

    to add a column of numbers

  4. 4

    To give by way of increased possession (to someone); to bestow (on).

  5. 5

    To append (e.g. a statement); to say further information.

  6. 6

    To intensify; to augment; to increase.

    It adds to our anxiety.

  7. 7

    To perform the arithmetical operation of addition.

    He adds rapidly.

  8. 8

    To summon minions or reinforcements.

    Typically, a hostile mob will add whenever it's within the aggro radius of a player.

noun

  1. 1

    The addition of a song to a station's playlist.

  2. 2

    An act or instance of adding.

  3. 3

    An additional enemy that joins a fight after the primary target.

    When the player has fought the boss for one minute, two adds will arrive from the back and must be dealt with.

noun

as ADD
  1. 1

    Initialism of attention deficit disorder.

  2. 2

    Initialism of accidental death and dismemberment.

    Life plus accidental death and dismemberment; disability income; in-hospital indemnity; major medical; ADD/250 high-limit coverage accidental loss of life, limbs, sight, speech, or hearing.

  3. 3

    A designation on prerecorded compact discs indicating that the contents were recorded in analog but mixed and mastered in digital.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Add in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchajouter (to append (e.g. a statement); to say further…), additionner, sommer (to make an addition; to augment; to increase…), faire une addition (to perform the arithmetical operation of…)
Germanhinzufügen (to append (e.g. a statement); to say further…), zugeben (to make an addition; to augment; to increase…), addieren (to perform the arithmetical operation of…)
Portugueseacrescentar (to append (e.g. a statement); to say further…), adicionar (to make an addition; to augment; to increase…), somar (to perform the arithmetical operation of…)
Spanishaditar, añadir, apostillar, añidir, sumar (to append (e.g. a statement); to say further…)

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 add come from?

From Middle English adden, from Latin addō (“add, give unto”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after add