babel
/ˈbeɪ.bəl/noun
babel is spelled B-A-B-E-L: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, babel means “Alternative form of Babel” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of babel is babels.
How many letters and syllables are in babel?
| Letters | 5: B-A-B-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is babel?
Babel appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd 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 babel?
- UK /ˈbeɪ.bəl/
- US /ˈbeɪ.bəl/
- US /ˈbæ.bəl/
Babel 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)-Sapaa-babel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with babel?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as babel from its last stressed vowel (/eɪbəl/):
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 babel
- babels plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does babel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Alternative form of Babel.
- 2
A confused noise made by a number of voices.
noun
- 1
A confused mixture of sounds and voices, especially in different languages.
- 2
A place or scene of noise and confusion.
- 3
A tall, looming structure.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does babel come from?
From Latin Babel, from Biblical Hebrew בָּבֶל (bāḇel, “Babylon”), from Akkadian 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 (Bābilim); in Genesis associated with the idea of confusion. Doublet of Babylon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).