cranberry
/ˈkɹæn.bɛr.i/noun, adjective, verb
cranberry is spelled C-R-A-N-B-E-R-R-Y: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Cranberry, the name). As a noun, cranberry means “A shrub belonging to the section Vaccinium sect. Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cranberry is cranberries.
How many letters and syllables are in cranberry?
| Letters | 9: C-R-A-N-B-E-R-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is cranberry?
Cranberry appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Cranberry, 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 cranberry?
- UK /ˈkræn.b(ə).ri/
- US /ˈkɹæn.bɛr.i/
Cranberry 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-cranberry.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cranberry
- cranberries plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- cranberrying participle, present
- cranberried participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cranberry mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A shrub belonging to the section Vaccinium sect. Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium.
- 2
The edible red berry of that shrub.
- 3
An intense red colour, like that of a cranberry.
adjective
- 1
Of the intense red colour of a cranberry.
verb
- 1
colloquialTo gather wild cranberries.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cranberry in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | canneberge |
| German | Moosbeere, Kronsbeere, Kranbeere, Cranberry |
| Portuguese | oxicoco , arando |
| Spanish | arándano rojo, mortiño rojo, anavia roja , arándano |
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 cranberry come from?
Adapted in the 1640s from Dutch Low Saxon or German Low German Kraanbeere, from Kraan m (which means and is cognate with crane) + Beere f (which means and is cognate with berry). Equivalent to cran- + berry. Via PIE cognate with Polish żurawina, Ukrainian журавли́на (žuravlýna) (akin to жураве́ль (žuravélʹ, “crane”)); Latvian dzērvene < dzērve (“crane”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).