Skip to main content
PlainSpell

con

/kɑn/verb, noun, adjective

con is spelled C-O-N: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,444th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Con, the name). As a verb, con means “To study or examine carefully, especially in order to gain knowledge of; to learn, or learn by heart” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in con?

Letters3: C-O-N
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing19 times per million words; the 4,444th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is con?

Con appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,444th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Con, the name.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce con?

  • UK /kɒn/
  • US /kɑn/
  • Canada /kɒn/

Con 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Berrely-con.wav, En-us-khan.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with con

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

Also written: cond, conn.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with con?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as con from its last stressed vowel (/ɑn/):

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 con

  • cons present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • conning participle, present
  • conned participle, past
  • conne
  • conn
  • com-
  • cor-

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

What does con mean?

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

verb

  1. 1

    rareTo study or examine carefully, especially in order to gain knowledge of; to learn, or learn by heart.

  2. 2

    obsoleterareTo know; understand; acknowledge.

  3. 3

    informalTo trick, lie or defraud, usually for personal gain.

  4. 4

    Alternative form of conn (“direct a ship”).

noun

  1. 1

    A disadvantage of something, especially when contrasted with its advantages (pros).

    pros and cons

  2. 2

    slangA convicted criminal, a convict.

  3. 3

    informalA fraud; something carried out with the intention of deceiving, usually for personal, often illegal, gain.

  4. 4

    informalAn organized gathering, such as a convention, conference, or congress.

  5. 5

    informalThe conversion of part of a building.

    We're getting a loft con done next year.

  6. 6

    Alternative form of conn (“navigational direction of a ship”).

  7. 7

    informalobsoleteConsumption; pulmonary tuberculosis.

  8. 8

    obsoleteSquirrel, particularly the red squirrel.

  9. 9

    obsoleteA squirrel's nest.

  10. 10

    A political conservative.

    own the cons

  11. 11

    Abbreviation of consolidation: only used in naming.

noun

as CON
  1. 1

    Initialism of Certificate of Need.

  2. 2

    Initialism of constitution point.

adjective

  1. 1

    Abbreviation of consolidated: only used in naming.

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

Con in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchinconvénient, inconvénients, contre (disadvantage of something), taulard (a convicted criminal, a convict), duperie, escroquerie (a fraud)
GermanKontra (disadvantage of something), Bauernfängerei (a fraud), betrügen, austricksen, reinlegen (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain), kon- (add a notion similar to those conveyed by with…)
Portuguesecontra (disadvantage of something)
Spanishcontra (disadvantage of something), engañar, estafar, embaucar (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain)

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 con come from?

Inherited from Middle English connen, inherited from Old English cunnan (“to know, know how”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan (“recognize, know how”), inherited from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną (“to know, know how”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”) Doublet of can.

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

What to look up after con