applaud
/əˈplɔd/verb
applaud is spelled A-P-P-L-A-U-D. The wrong spelling people search most is applaude: about 50 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 12 of all searches for the word. Applaud is a verb meaning “To express approval (of something) by clapping the hands”.
How many letters and syllables are in applaud?
| Letters | 7: A-P-P-L-A-U-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.9 times per million words; the 15,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, applaude, about 50 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
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 do you spell applaud?
Applaud is spelled A-P-P-L-A-U-D. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 12 of the searches for applaud in either form.
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). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is applaud?
Applaud appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th 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 applaud?
- UK /əˈplɔːd/
- US /əˈplɔd/
- /əˈplɑd/
Applaud 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: En-us-applaud.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with applaud?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as applaud from its last stressed vowel (/ɔd/):
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 applaud
- applauds present, singular, he/she/it
- applauding participle, present
- applauded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does applaud mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To express approval (of something) by clapping the hands.
After the performance, the audience applauded for five minutes.
- 2
To praise, or express approval for something or someone.
Although we don't like your methods, we applaud your motives.
noun
- 1
obsoleteApplause; applauding.
- 2
obsoletePlaudit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Applaud in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | applaudir, ovationner , louer, approuver |
| German | applaudieren, klatschen, Beifall klatschen , loben, befürworten |
| Portuguese | aplaudir |
| Spanish | aplaudir |
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 applaud come from?
From Middle English applauden, from Latin applaudere (“to clap the hands together, applaud”), from ad (“to”) + plaudere (“to strike, clap”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).