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PlainSpell

complement

/ˈkɑmpləmənt/noun, verb

complement is spelled C-O-M-P-L-E-M-E-N-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “complement vs compliment” about 40,500 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, complement means “The totality, the full amount or number which completes something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of complement is complements.

How many letters and syllables are in complement?

Letters10: C-O-M-P-L-E-M-E-N-T
Syllables3 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing5.9 times per million words; the 10,028th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is complement?

Complement appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th 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 complement?

  • UK /ˈkɒmpləmənt/
  • US /ˈkɑmpləmənt/

Complement 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-complement.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-complement.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with complement

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

complement vs compliment40,500 G

Sounds like: compliment (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with complement?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as complement from its last stressed vowel (/ɑmpləmənt/):

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 complement

  • complements plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • complementing participle, present
  • complemented participle, past

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

What does complement mean?

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

noun

  1. 1

    The totality, the full amount or number which completes something.

  2. 2

    The whole working force of a vessel.

  3. 3

    An angle which, together with a given angle, makes a right angle.

  4. 4

    Something which completes, something which combines with something else to make up a complete whole; loosely, something perceived to be a harmonious or desirable partner or addition.

  5. 5

    A word or group of words that completes a grammatical construction in the predicate and that describes or is identified with the subject or object.

  6. 6

    A phonetic complement is a graphic element that modifies another, such as (in Linear B script) a small syllabogram that is attached to a logogram as an abbreviation of its reading (as opposed to an adjunct that abbreviates an adjective that modifies that logogram).

  7. 7

    An interval which, together with the given interval, makes an octave.

  8. 8

    The color which, when mixed with the given color, gives black (for mixing pigments) or white (for mixing light).

    The complement of blue is orange.

  9. 9

    Obsolete spelling or misspelling of compliment.

verb

  1. 1

    To complete, to bring to perfection, to make whole.

    We believe your addition will complement the team.

  2. 2

    To provide what the partner lacks and lack what the partner provides, thus forming part of a whole.

    The flavors of the pepper and garlic complement each other, giving a very rich taste in combination.

  3. 3

    To change a voltage, number, color, etc. to its complement.

  4. 4

    Obsolete spelling or misspelling of compliment.

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

Complement in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Portugueseângulo complementar (3. angle which, together with a given angle…), complemento (4. something which complements), completar (to complete)
Frenchcomplète (4. something which complements), compléter (to complete), complémenter (to provide what the partner lacks and lack what…)
GermanKomplement (4. something which complements), ergänzen, komplementieren (to complete)
Spanishcomplemento (4. something which complements), complementar (to complete)

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 complement come from?

From Middle English complement, from Latin complēmentum (“that which fills up or completes”), from compleō (“to fill up; to complete”) (English complete). Doublet of compliment. The verb is from the noun.

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

What to look up after complement