aplomb
/æ-/noun
aplomb is spelled A-P-L-O-M-B: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,179th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, aplomb means “Self-confidence; poise; composure” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of aplomb is aplombs.
How many letters and syllables are in aplomb?
| Letters | 6: A-P-L-O-M-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 62,179th 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 aplomb?
Aplomb appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,179th 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 aplomb?
- /əˈplʌm/
- /əˈplɒm/
- UK /æ-/
Aplomb 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)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-aplomb.wav, En-us-aplomb.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of aplomb
- aplombs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does aplomb mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Self-confidence; poise; composure.
His nonchalance and aplomb during hard times have always been his best character trait.
- 2
The apparent elegance and precision exhibited by a confident, accomplished dancer.
- 3
The perpendicular; perpendicularity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Aplomb in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense self-confidence:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Souveränität, Aplomb |
| Portuguese | autoconfiança, aplomb |
| Spanish | aplomo |
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 aplomb come from?
Unadapted borrowing from French aplomb (“plumb line”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).