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PlainSpell

defile

de·file/dəˈfaɪl/verb, noun

defile is spelled D-E-F-I-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (de·file). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, defile means “To make (someone or something) physically dirty or unclean; to befoul, to soil” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in defile?

Letters6: D-E-F-I-L-E
Syllables2: de·file
In writingabout once in every 2 million words; the 44,209th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is defile?

Defile appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th 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 defile?

  • UK /dɪˈfaɪl/
  • UK /ˈdiː-/
  • US /dəˈfaɪl/

Defile has 2 syllables, split de·file in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-defile.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with defile?

11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as defile from its last stressed vowel (/aɪl/):

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 defile

  • defiles present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • defiling participle, present
  • defiled participle, past
  • defilé
  • defilee
  • défilé

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does defile mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To make (someone or something) physically dirty or unclean; to befoul, to soil.

  2. 2

    To make (someone or something) morally impure or unclean; to corrupt, to tarnish.

  3. 3

    To act inappropriately towards or vandalize (something sacred or special); to desecrate, to profane.

    To urinate on someone’s grave is an example of a way to defile it.

  4. 4

    To cause (something or someone) to become ritually unclean.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo deprive (someone) of their sexual chastity or purity, often not consensually; to deflower, to rape.

    The serial rapist kidnapped and defiled a six-year-old girl.

  6. 6

    obsoleteTo dishonour (someone).

  7. 7

    obsoleteTo become dirty or unclean.

  8. 8

    obsoleteTo cause uncleanliness; specifically, to pass feces; to defecate.

  9. 9

    archaicTo march in a single file or line; to file.

  10. 10

    obsoleteTo march across (a place) in files or lines.

  11. 11

    rareSynonym of defilade (“to fortify (something) as a protection from enfilading fire”).

noun

  1. 1

    A narrow passage or way (originally (military), one which soldiers could only march through in a single file or line), especially a narrow gorge or pass between mountains.

  2. 2

    An act of marching in files or lines.

  3. 3

    A single file of soldiers; (by extension) any single file.

  4. 4

    rareAn act of defilading a fortress or other place, or of raising the exterior works in order to protect the interior.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Defile in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsouiller (to make (someone or something) physically dirty…), défiler (to march in a single file or line – see also…), défilé (single file of soldiers; any single file)
Germanverunreinigen (to make (someone or something) physically dirty…), Bergpass, Engpass, Hohlweg, Pass (narrow passage or way, especially a narrow…)
Portugueseconspurcar (to make (someone or something) physically dirty…)
Spanishdesfilar (to march in a single file or line – see also…), desfile (single file of soldiers; any single file), desfiladero, angostura, estrecho, paso (narrow passage or way, especially a narrow…)

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 defile come from?

From Late Middle English defilen (“to make dirty, befoul; rape; abuse; destroy; injure; oppress”) [and other forms], a variant of defoulen (“to make dirty, defile, pollute; have sexual intercourse with; rape; etc.”) (compare also defoilen).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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