atlas
/ˈætləs/noun
atlas is spelled A-T-L-A-S: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, atlas means “A bound collection of maps often including tables, illustrations or other text” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of atlas is atlases or atlantes.
How many letters and syllables are in atlas?
| Letters | 5: A-T-L-A-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.3 times per million words; the 9,594th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| 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 atlas?
Atlas appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th 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 atlas?
- UK /ˈætləs/
- UK /ˈætlɪs/
- US /ˈætləs/
Atlas 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-atlas.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-atlas.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with atlas?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as atlas from its last stressed vowel (/ætləs/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: salat.
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 atlas
- atlases plural
- atlantes plural
- atlasses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does atlas mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A bound collection of maps often including tables, illustrations or other text.
- 2
A bound collection of tables, illustrations, etc. on any given subject.
- 3
A detailed visual conspectus of something of great and multi-faceted complexity, with its elements splayed so as to be presented in as discrete a manner as possible whilst retaining a realistic view of the whole.
An Anatomical Atlas of Vegetable Powders Designed as an Aid to the Microscopic Analysis of Powdered Foods and Drugs
- 4
A family of coordinate charts that cover a manifold.
- 5
The uppermost vertebra of the cervical spine in the neck in humans and some other animals.
- 6
One who supports a heavy burden; mainstay.
- 7
A figure of a man used as a column.
- 8
A sheet of paper measuring 26 inches by 34 inches.
- 9
A rich satin fabric.
noun
- 1
USA particular model or individual specimen of the Atlas missile and launch vehicle line.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Atlas in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 atlas come from?
Borrowed from Latin Atlas, from the name of the Ancient Greek mythological figure Ἄτλας (Átlas, “Bearer (of the Heavens)”), from τλῆναι (tlênai, “to suffer”, “to endure”, “to bear”). The sense referring to books of maps comes from the Atlas of Mercator, which he named thus in honor of Atlas, who was supposed to be skillful in astronomy and the doctrine of the sphere. The sense referring to the vertebra reflects that the spine carries the globe of the cranium (the neck carries the head).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).