cohere

/kəʊˈhɪə/

//kəʊˈhɪə// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cohere" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cohere” is uncommon English (frequency #95,841 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#95,841
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To stick together physically, by adhesion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cohere · cohere · English

cohere · rank #95,841 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #95,841
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cocksure

Nearest frequency peer: cocksure (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “cohere”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cohere” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cohere
PropertyValue
Headwordcohere
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kəʊˈhɪə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#95,841
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cohere” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).coherefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “cocksure” (#95,839), “Colla” (#95,843), “cochineal” (#95,838). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cohere” is #95,841. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cohere is uncommon English at frequency #95,841 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /kəʊˈhɪə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for cohere in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin cohaereō (“cohere, cling (closely) together, harmonise, be consistent (with), be in agreement with”). The correct English form is cohere, spelled C-O-H-E-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To stick together physically, by adhesion.
  2. 2
    To be consistent as part of a group, or by common purpose.
  3. 3
    To be consistent as part of a group, or by common purpose.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cohere appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Separate molecules will cohere because of electromagnetic force.
  2. Nothing coheres the way you expect. Substances float around each other until you crush them all with a blender.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cohaereō (“cohere, cling (closely) together, harmonise, be consistent (with), be in agreement with”).

This word in other languages

cohesionar(Español)s'attirer(Français)binden(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cohere"?
"cohere" is spelled C-O-H-E-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kəʊˈhɪə/.
What does "cohere" mean?
As a verb, "cohere" means: To stick together physically, by adhesion.
How do you pronounce "cohere"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cohere" is /kəʊˈhɪə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cohere"?
Borrowed from Latin cohaereō (“cohere, cling (closely) together, harmonise, be consistent (with), be in agreement with”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cohere", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

couper#95,858crawly#95,862crazes#95,863cruden#95,865

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list