conch
/ˈkɑŋk/noun, verb
conch is spelled C-O-N-C-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, conch means “A marine gastropod of the family Strombidae which lives in its own spiral shell” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of conch is conchs; Wiktionary also lists conches (proscribed).
How many letters and syllables are in conch?
| Letters | 5: C-O-N-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th 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 conch?
Conch appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th 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 conch?
- UK /ˈkɒŋk/
- UK /ˈkɒnt͡ʃ/
- US /ˈkɑŋk/
Conch 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)-Vealhurl-conch.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with conch?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as conch from its last stressed vowel (/ɑŋk/):
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 conch
- conchs plural
- conches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- conk
- conque
- conching participle, present
- conched participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does conch mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A marine gastropod of the family Strombidae which lives in its own spiral shell.
- 2
The shell of this sea animal.
- 3
A musical instrument made from a large spiral seashell, somewhat like a trumpet.
- 4
The semidome of an apse, or the apse itself.
- 5
Synonym of concher (“machine used to refine the flavour and texture of chocolate”).
verb
- 1
To refine the flavour and texture of chocolate by warming and grinding, either in a traditional concher, or between rollers.
- 2
To play a conch seashell as a musical instrument, by blowing through a hole made close to the origin of the spiral.
noun
- 1
datedA British Bahamian.
- 2
datedA European caucasian Bahamian
- 3
slangA denizen of the Florida Keys
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Conch in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | conque |
| German | Muschel, Meeresschnecke , conchieren |
| Portuguese | búzio |
| Spanish | caracola , concha , bocina |
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 conch come from?
Borrowed from Latin concha, borrowed from Ancient Greek κόγχη (kónkhē, “a mussel or cockle; a shell-like cavity”). Doublet of concha.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).