decoder
/dɪˈkəʊdə(ɹ)/noun
decoder is spelled D-E-C-O-D-E-R: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, decoder means “A person who decodes secret messages” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of decoder is decoders.
How many letters and syllables are in decoder?
| Letters | 7: D-E-C-O-D-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,320th 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 decoder?
Decoder appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th 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 decoder?
- UK /dɪˈkəʊdə(ɹ)/
Decoder 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-decoder.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of decoder
- decoders plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does decoder mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person who decodes secret messages
- 2
A device that decodes a scrambled electronic signal e.g. of a satellite television signal
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Decoder in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Dekodierer, Dekodiererin , Dekoder |
| French | décodeur |
| Spanish | descodificador, decodificador |
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 decoder come from?
From decode + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).