caress
/kəˈɹɛs/noun, verb
caress is spelled C-A-R-E-S-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,168th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, caress means “An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of caress is caresses.
How many letters and syllables are in caress?
| Letters | 6: C-A-R-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,168th 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 caress?
Caress appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,168th 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 caress?
- /kəˈɹɛs/
Caress 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)-Vealhurl-caress.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of caress
- caresses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- caressing participle, present
- caressed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does caress mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness.
- 2
A gentle stroking or rubbing.
verb
- 1
To touch or kiss lovingly; to fondle.
She loves being caressed by her boyfriend.
- 2
To affect as if with a caress.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Caress in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Liebkosung, Umarmung , Streicheln , liebkosen, kosen |
| Spanish | caricia, carantoña , acariciar, franelear, apapachar, apapuchar |
| French | caresser |
| Portuguese | acariciar |
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 caress come from?
From French caresse, from Italian carezza (“dear”), from Latin cārus (“dear”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂-, akin to Sanskrit काम (kāma, “love”). Doublet of karezza.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).