centipede
/ˈsɛn.tɪ.pid/noun
centipede is spelled C-E-N-T-I-P-E-D-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, centipede means “Any arthropod of class Chilopoda, which have a segmented body with one pair of legs per segment and from about 20 to 300 legs in total” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of centipede is centipedes.
How many letters and syllables are in centipede?
| Letters | 9: C-E-N-T-I-P-E-D-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th 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 centipede?
Centipede appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th 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 centipede?
- UK /ˈsɛn.tɪ.pid/
Centipede has 3 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-centipede.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of centipede
- centipedes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does centipede mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any arthropod of class Chilopoda, which have a segmented body with one pair of legs per segment and from about 20 to 300 legs in total.
- 2
obsoleteA many-oared Chinese smuggling boat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Centipede in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a segmented arthropod of class Chilopoda:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | scolopendre |
| German | Tausendfüßler, Tausendfüßer m Hundertfüßler, Hundertfüßer |
| Portuguese | centopeia, lacraia, centípede, quilópode |
| Spanish | ciempiés, escolopendra, cientopiés |
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 centipede come from?
From French centipède, from Latin centipeda, centipēs, from centi- (“hundred”) + pēs (“foot”); equivalent to centi- + -pede.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).