constraint
/kənˈstɹeɪnt/noun
constraint is spelled C-O-N-S-T-R-A-I-N-T: 10 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, constraint means “Something that constrains; a restriction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of constraint is constraints.
How many letters and syllables are in constraint?
| Letters | 10: C-O-N-S-T-R-A-I-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,101st 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 constraint?
Constraint appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st 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 constraint?
- US /kənˈstɹeɪnt/
- Australia /kənˈstɹæɪnt/
Constraint has 2 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)-Wodencafe-constraint.wav, En-au-constraint.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with constraint?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as constraint from its last stressed vowel (/eɪnt/):
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 constraint
- constraints plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does constraint mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Something that constrains; a restriction.
An engineer must recognize the difference between a constraint (to work within) and a problem (to be eliminated via resolution).
- 2
An irresistible force or compulsion.
They confessed, but only under severe constraint.
- 3
The repression of one's feelings.
- 4
A condition that a solution to an optimization problem must satisfy.
- 5
A linkage or other restriction that maintains database integrity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate constraint?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of constraint: constr..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Constraint in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | contrainte |
| German | Einschränkung, Beschränkung, Restriktion, Zwang, Hemmnis, Auflage |
| Portuguese | coação, compulsão , restrição |
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 constraint come from?
From Middle English constreynt, constreynte, from Old French constreinte, past participle of constreindre (“to constrain”), from Latin cōnstringō (corresponding to the past participle cōnstrictus).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).