decompression
/ˌdiːkəmˈpɹɛʃən/noun
decompression is spelled D-E-C-O-M-P-R-E-S-S-I-O-N: 13 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, decompression means “The process of decompressing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of decompression is decompressions.
How many letters and syllables are in decompression?
| Letters | 13: D-E-C-O-M-P-R-E-S-S-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,549th 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 decompression?
Decompression appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th 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 decompression?
- UK /ˌdiːkəmˈpɹɛʃən/
Decompression has 4 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-decompression.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-decompression.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with decompression?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as decompression from its last stressed vowel (/ɛʃən/, British pronunciation):
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 decompression
- decompressions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does decompression mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The process of decompressing.
The decompression of large data files may take a while.
- 2
The restoration to atmospheric pressure of a person who has spent time under higher pressure (such as a diver).
- 3
A mode of operation of some internal combustion engines which reduces the engine's compression ratio, making it easier to start but significantly increasing fuel consumption.
- 4
The relief of pressure on a body part by surgery.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Decompression in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense process of decompressing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | décompression |
| German | Dekomprimierung, Dekompression |
| Portuguese | descompressão |
| Spanish | descompresión |
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 decompression come from?
From de- + compression.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).