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PlainSpell

black

/blæk/adjective, noun, verb

black is spelled B-L-A-C-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 288 times per million words in written English, the 329th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, black means “Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in black?

Letters5: B-L-A-C-K
Syllables1
In writing288 times per million words; the 329th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 black?

Black appears 288 times per million words in written English, the 329th 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 black?

  • US /blæk/
  • British /blak/
  • /blɛk/

Black has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-Black.ogg, En-uk-black.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with black

Also written: pot kettle black.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with black?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as black from its last stressed vowel (/æk/):

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 black

  • blacker comparative
  • more black comparative
  • blackest superlative
  • most black superlative
  • blk
  • blak
  • blacks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • blacking participle, present
  • blacked participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does black mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.

    The items around him were black in colour.

  2. 2

    Without light.

  3. 3

    Belonging to or descended from any of various (African, Aboriginal, etc.) ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. (See usage notes below.)

  4. 4

    UKUSBelonging to or descended from any of various sub-Saharan African ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin.

  5. 5

    Designated for use by those ethnic groups (as described above).

    black drinking fountain; black hospital

  6. 6

    Of the spades or clubs suits.

    I was dealt two red queens, and he got one of the black queens.

  7. 7

    Bad; evil; ill-omened.

    black magic

  8. 8

    Expressing menace or discontent; threatening; sullen.

    He shot her a black look.

noun

  1. 1

    The colour/color perceived in the absence of light, but also when no light is reflected, but rather absorbed.

  2. 2

    A black dye or pigment.

  3. 3

    A pen, pencil, crayon, etc., made of black pigment.

  4. 4

    Black cloth hung up at funerals.

  5. 5

    offensiveA member or descendant of any of various (African, Aboriginal, etc) ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin.

  6. 6

    informalBlackness, the condition of belonging to or being descended from one of these ethnic groups.

    black don't crack

  7. 7

    The black ball.

  8. 8

    The edge of home plate.

verb

  1. 1

    To make black; to blacken.

  2. 2

    To apply blacking to (something).

  3. 3

    UKTo boycott, usually as part of an industrial dispute.

adjective

as Black
  1. 1

    Alternative letter-case form of black (“of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin”).

noun

as Black
  1. 1

    Alternative letter-case form of black (“person having dark pigmentation of the skin”).

  2. 2

    The player moving the black pieces.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate black?

Wiktionary records 6 abbreviations of black: BLK, PKB, YBG, bk, blk, blk..

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Black in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchnoir (absorbing all light), noir de monde (overcrowded), Noir, Noire (dark-skinned person – see also Negro)
Germanschwarz (absorbing all light), Schwarzer, Schwarze (dark-skinned person – see also Negro), schwarzhäutig (relating to people with dark skin – see also…), Schwarz (colour/color), Schwärze (dye, pigment)
Portuguesepreto, atro, negro (absorbing all light), afrodescendente (relating to people with dark skin – see also…), escuro (without light), preta (pen, pencil, etc. with black pigment)
Spanishnegro, prieto, renegrido (absorbing all light), negra (dark-skinned person – see also Negro), moreno, morocho (relating to people with dark skin – see also…)

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 black come from?

From Middle English blak, black, blake, from Old English blæc (“black, dark", also "ink”), from Proto-West Germanic *blak, from Proto-Germanic *blakaz (“burnt”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleg- (“to burn, shine”). See also Dutch blaken (“to burn”), Low German blak, black (“blackness, black paint, (black) ink”), Old High German blah (“black”); also compare Latin flagrāre (“to burn”), Ancient Greek φλόξ (phlóx, “flame”), Sanskrit भर्ग (bharga, “radiance”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after black