checksum
noun, verb
checksum is spelled C-H-E-C-K-S-U-M: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,055th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, checksum means “A number, derived by applying a suitable algorithm to some data, used to check whether errors have occurred in transmission, storage or data entry” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of checksum is checksums.
How many letters and syllables are in checksum?
| Letters | 8: C-H-E-C-K-S-U-M |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,055th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is checksum?
Checksum appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,055th 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 checksum?
- US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-checksum.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of checksum
- checksums plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- checksumming participle, present
- checksummed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does checksum mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A number, derived by applying a suitable algorithm to some data, used to check whether errors have occurred in transmission, storage or data entry.
verb
- 1
To compute a checksum.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Checksum in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense number serving to detect error:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | somme de contrôle |
| German | Prüfsumme |
| Portuguese | checksum, soma de verificação |
| Spanish | suma de verificación, checksum |
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 checksum come from?
From check + sum.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).