degree
/dɪˈɡɹiː/noun
degree is spelled D-E-G-R-E-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 87 times per million words in written English, the 1,223rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, degree means “A completed curriculum of study in tertiary education” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of degree is degrees.
How many letters and syllables are in degree?
| Letters | 6: D-E-G-R-E-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 87 times per million words; the 1,223rd 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 degree?
Degree appears 87 times per million words in written English, the 1,223rd 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 degree?
- /dɪˈɡɹiː/
Degree has 2 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: En-us-degree.ogg, En-uk-degree.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of degree
- degrees plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does degree mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A completed curriculum of study in tertiary education.
She has two bachelor's degrees and is studying towards a master's degree.
- 2
A unit of measurement of angle equal to ¹⁄₃₆₀ of a circle's circumference.
A right angle is a ninety-degree angle.
- 3
A unit of measurement of temperature on any of several scales, such as Celsius or Fahrenheit.
- 4
The sum of the exponents of a term; the order of a polynomial.
A quadratic polynomial is a polynomial of degree 2.
- 5
The dimensionality of a field extension.
The set of complex numbers constitutes a field extension of degree 2 over the real numbers.
- 6
The number of edges that a vertex takes part in; a valency.
- 7
The number of logical connectives in a formula.
- 8
The curvature of a circular arc, expressed as the angle subtended by a fixed length of arc or chord.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate degree?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of degree: deg, deg..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Degree in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | diplôme , degré , ordre |
| German | Diplom, akademisches Diplom , Grad, Winkelgrad, Altgrad, Neugrad |
| Portuguese | diploma, graduação , grau |
| Spanish | título, diploma , grado |
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 degree come from?
From Middle English degre, borrowed from Old French degré (French: degré), itself from Latin gradus, with the prefix de-.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).