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PlainSpell

circumference

cir·cum·fer·ence/sɚˈkʌmfɹəns/noun

circumference is spelled C-I-R-C-U-M-F-E-R-E-N-C-E: 13 letters and 4 syllables (cir·cum·fer·ence). It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,965th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, circumference means “The line that bounds a circle or other two-dimensional figure” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of circumference is circumferences.

How many letters and syllables are in circumference?

Letters13: C-I-R-C-U-M-F-E-R-E-N-C-E
Syllables4: cir·cum·fer·ence
In writing1.5 times per million words; the 22,965th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone 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 circumference?

Circumference appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,965th 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 circumference?

  • UK /sɜːˈkʌmfɹəns/
  • UK /səˈkʌmfɹəns/
  • US /sɚˈkʌmfɹəns/

Circumference has 4 syllables, split cir·cum·fer·ence in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-circumference.ogg, En-us-circumference.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of circumference

  • circumferences plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • circumferencing participle, present
  • circumferenced participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does circumference mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The line that bounds a circle or other two-dimensional figure.

  2. 2

    The length of such a line.

  3. 3

    obsoleteThe surface of a round or spherical object.

  4. 4

    The length of the longest cycle of a graph.

verb

  1. 1

    obsoleteTo include in a circular space; to bound.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate circumference?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of circumference: cir., circ..

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Circumference in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcirconférence (line that bounds a circle or other…)
GermanUmfang (line that bounds a circle or other…), Kreisumfang (length of such line)
Portuguesecircunferência (line that bounds a circle or other…), perímetro (length of such line)
Spanishcircunferencia (line that bounds a circle or other…)

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 circumference come from?

From Latin circumferentia, from circum (“around”) + ferō (“to carry”). Displaced native Old English ymbgang.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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