brine
/ˈbɹaɪ̯n/noun, verb
brine is spelled B-R-I-N-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, brine means “Salt water; water saturated or strongly impregnated with salt; a salt-and-water solution for pickling” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of brine is brines.
How many letters and syllables are in brine?
| Letters | 5: B-R-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,420th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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 brine?
Brine appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th 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 brine?
- US /ˈbɹaɪ̯n/
- /ˈbɹaːn/
- Australia /ˈbɹɑ̟ɪ̯n/
Brine has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-brine.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with brine?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as brine from its last stressed vowel (/aɪn/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: biner.
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 brine
- brines plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- brining participle, present
- brined participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does brine mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Salt water; water saturated or strongly impregnated with salt; a salt-and-water solution for pickling.
Do you want a can of tuna in oil or in brine?
- 2
The sea or ocean; the water of the sea.
verb
- 1
To preserve food in a salt solution.
- 2
To prepare and flavor food (especially meat) for cooking by soaking in a salt solution.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Brine in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | saumure , saumurer |
| German | Sole, Salzbrühe, Lake , pökeln , Meerwasser, Salzwasser |
| Portuguese | salmoura, água salgada , salmourar |
| Spanish | salmuera, aguasal , poner en salmuera , agua de mar, agua marina, agua marítima |
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 brine come from?
From Middle English brine, bryne, from Old English brīne, from Proto-West Germanic *brīnā, from Proto-Germanic *brīnǭ (“salt water, brine”) (compare Scots brime, West Frisian brein, Dutch brijn (“brine”), West Flemish brijne), of unknown ultimate origin, but probably from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- (“to cut, maim”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).