Boston
/ˈbɔstən/noun
Boston is spelled B-O-S-T-O-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 47 times per million words in written English, the 2,153rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, Boston means “In the card game spades, a bid of all 13 tricks” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of Boston is Bostons.
How many letters and syllables are in Boston?
| Letters | 6: B-O-S-T-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 47 times per million words; the 2,153rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is Boston?
Boston appears 47 times per million words in written English, the 2,153rd 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 Boston?
- US /ˈbɔstən/
- /ˈbɒstən/
- [ˈbɒːstɪn]
Boston 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-va-Boston.ogg, En-us-Boston.ogg, En-uk-Boston.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of Boston
- Bostons plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does Boston mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
In the card game spades, a bid of all 13 tricks.
- 2
A Boston lettuce.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does Boston come from?
The US city is named after the English town (from which several prominent colonists had come), which itself is sometimes said to be named as a contraction of Botolph's town or Botolph's stone (the name Botolph itself coming from Old English Botwulf, from boda + wulf). However, this is uncertain.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).