def
/dɛf/noun, adverb, adjective
def is spelled D-E-F: 3 letters. It appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “deaf vs def” about 10 times a month (Bing, United States). As a noun, def means “Abbreviation of definition” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of def is defs or defs..
How many letters and syllables are in def?
| Letters | 3: D-E-F |
|---|---|
| In writing | 8.1 times per million words; the 8,146th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is def?
Def appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th 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 def?
- /dɛf/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-def.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with def
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: deaf (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with def?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as def.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: fed.
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 def
- defs plural
- deffer comparative
- deffest superlative
- defs. plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does def mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of definition.
- 2
Abbreviation of deficit.
adjective
- 1
slangExcellent; very good.
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of diesel exhaust fluid.
- 2
Initialism of defence point.
- 3
Initialism of daily electronic feed.
- 4
Initialism of delayed electronic feed.
adverb
- 1
slangClipping of definitely.
i can def sneak out tn. where should i meet u?
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does def come from?
Clipping of definitive or definitely; alternatively an eye spelling of death referring to an absolute.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).