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augment

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "augment", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "augment" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "augment" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

augment is aEnglishverb. It means: To increase; to make larger or supplement. Pronounced /ɔːɡˈmɛnt/. Often confused with augmented and agent.

Key facts for augment
PropertyValue
Headwordaugment
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɔːɡˈmɛnt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#22,577
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of augment in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for augment is 7 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɔːɡˈmɛnt/. Corpus data places it at rank #22,577 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for augment, with forms such as "agument", "augemnt", and "auggment". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "augmented", "agent", "argent", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English augmenten, from Middle French augmenter, from Old French augmenter, from Late Latin augmentare (“to increase”), from Latin augmentum (“an increase, growth”), from augere (“to increase”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is augment, spelled A-U-G-M-E-N-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To increase; to make larger or supplement.
  2. 2
    To grow; to increase; to become greater.
  3. 3
    To slow the tempo or meter, e.g. for a dramatic or stately passage.
  4. 4
    To increase an interval, especially the largest interval in a triad, by a half step (chromatic semitone).
  5. 5
    To add an augment to.

Etymology

From Middle English augmenten, from Middle French augmenter, from Old French augmenter, from Late Latin augmentare (“to increase”), from Latin augmentum (“an increase, growth”), from augere (“to increase”).

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: agument,augemnt,auggment,augmennt,augmentt,augmetn,augmment,augmnet,aumgent,uagment

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for augment

Misspelling Variants of "augment"

agument7augemnt7auggment8augmennt8augmentt8augmetn7augmment8augmnet7
Misspelling Variants of "augment"

Frequency rank: #22,577 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "augment"?
"augment" is spelled A-U-G-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ɔːɡˈmɛnt/.
What does "augment" mean?
As a verb, "augment" means: To increase; to make larger or supplement.
What words are commonly confused with "augment"?
"augment" is commonly confused with "augmented", "agent", "argent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "augment"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "augment" is /ɔːɡˈmɛnt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "augment"?
From Middle English augmenten, from Middle French augmenter, from Old French augmenter, from Late Latin augmentare (“to increase”), from Latin augmentum (“an increase, growth”), from augere (“to increase”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter A in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.