brill
/bɹɪl/noun, adjective
brill is spelled B-R-I-L-L: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, brill means “A type of flatfish, Scophthalmus rhombus” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of brill is brills.
How many letters and syllables are in brill?
| Letters | 5: B-R-I-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 26,776th 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 brill?
Brill appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th 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 brill?
- /bɹɪl/
Brill has one syllable (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-au-brill.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with brill
Also written: brilliant.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of brill
- brills plural
- more brill comparative
- most brill superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does brill mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A type of flatfish, Scophthalmus rhombus.
adjective
- 1
UKslangClipping of brilliant; wonderful, amusing; cool.
That song is totally brill, innit!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Brill in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Scophthalmus rhombus:
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 brill come from?
Possibly from Cornish brilli (“mackerel”), from brithelli, plural of brithel (“mackerel”), from brith (“spotted”), from Proto-Brythonic *briθ.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).