ambergris
/ˈæm.bɚ.ɡɹɪs/noun
ambergris is spelled A-M-B-E-R-G-R-I-S: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 79,518th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ambergris means “A solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray to blackish color, formed within the intestines of the sperm whale and used in the production of…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ambergris is ambergrises.
How many letters and syllables are in ambergris?
| Letters | 9: A-M-B-E-R-G-R-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 79,518th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is ambergris?
Ambergris appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 79,518th 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 ambergris?
- US /ˈæm.bɚ.ɡɹɪs/
- US /ˈæm.bɚ.ɡɹis/
- UK /ˈæm.bə.ɡɹɪs/
Ambergris has 3 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-us-ambergris.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ambergris
- ambergrises plural
- amber-gris
- amber gris
- ambergreece
- amber-greece
- amber greece
- ambergrease
- amber-grease
- amber grease
- ambergreese
- amber-greese
- ambergrise
- amber-grise
- amber grise
- ambergreace
- amber-greace
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ambergris mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray to blackish color, formed within the intestines of the sperm whale and used in the production of perfumes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ambergris in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense waxy substance produced by sperm whales:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ambre gris |
| German | Ambra, Amber |
| Portuguese | âmbar cinza, âmbar gris, âmbar pardo |
| Spanish | ámbar gris |
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 ambergris come from?
From Old French ambre gris (“grey amber”). Though the term was initially spaced as two words, single-word forms predominated by the 19th century. In the 17th century, folk etymologies interpreting the term as amber grease or amber [of] Greece enjoyed some popularity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).