alcove
/ˈæl.koʊv/noun, verb
alcove is spelled A-L-C-O-V-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, alcove means “A small recessed area set off from a larger room” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of alcove is alcoves.
How many letters and syllables are in alcove?
| Letters | 6: A-L-C-O-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,947th 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 alcove?
Alcove appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th 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 alcove?
- UK /ˈæl.kəʊv/
- US /ˈæl.koʊv/
Alcove 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-alcove.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with alcove?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as alcove (/ælkoʊv/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: coeval.
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 alcove
- alcoves plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- alcoving participle, present
- alcoved participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does alcove mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small recessed area set off from a larger room.
- 2
A shady retreat.
The house was situated in a leafy alcove.
- 3
The geographical and geological term for a steep-sided hollow in the side of an exposed rock face or cliff of a homogeneous rock type, that was water eroded.
verb
- 1
rareTo furnish (something) with an alcove or to form an alcovelike recess.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Alcove in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense small recessed area:
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 alcove come from?
From French alcôve, from Spanish alcoba or Portuguese alcova, from Arabic القُبَّة (al-qubba, “vault, chamber with vaulted roof”). Doublet of qubba.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).