clove
/kloʊv/noun, verb
clove is spelled C-L-O-V-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, clove means “A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of clove is cloves.
How many letters and syllables are in clove?
| Letters | 5: C-L-O-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is clove?
Clove appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd 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 clove?
- UK /kləʊv/
- US /kloʊv/
Clove has one syllable (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: En-us-clove.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with clove?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as clove from its last stressed vowel (/oʊv/):
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 clove
- cloves plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does clove mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree.
- 2
A clove tree, of the species Syzygium aromaticum (syn. Caryophyllus aromaticus), native to the Moluccas (Indonesian islands), which produces the spice.
- 3
An old English measure of weight, containing 7 pounds (3.2 kg), i.e. half a stone.
- 4
One of the small bulbs that make up the large, compound bulb in garlic, shallots, or similar plants.
clove of garlic, garlic clove, clove of a sea-onion, clove of shallot, cloves of bulbs
- 5
archaicA segment or natural division of a fruit.
- 6
USA narrow valley with steep sides.
verb
- 1
simple past of cleave
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Clove in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | clou de girofle , gousse |
| German | Gewürznelke , Zehe, Knoblauchzehe |
| Portuguese | cravo, cravo-da-índia, cravinho, girofle , dente |
| Spanish | clavo de olor, clavo, girofle, jirofle, clavillo , clavero |
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 clove come from?
From Middle English clove, an alteration of earlier clowe, borrowed from the first component of Old French clou (de girofle) (modern French clou de girofle), from Latin clāvus (“nail”) for its shape. Also see clāva (“knotty branch, club”). Doublet of clou and clavus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).