Skip to main content
PlainSpell

derelict

de·re·lict/ˈdɛɹəˌlɪk(t)/adjective, noun

derelict is spelled D-E-R-E-L-I-C-T, 3 syllables: de·re·lict. The wrong spelling people search most is derilict: about 70 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 27 of all searches for the word. Derelict is an adjective meaning “Given up by the guardian or owner; abandoned, forsaken”.

How many letters and syllables are in derelict?

Letters8: D-E-R-E-L-I-C-T
Syllables3: de·re·lict
In writing1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searched1; the most searched, derilict, about 70 Bing searches a month (all of them)

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).

How do you spell derelict?

Derelict is spelled D-E-R-E-L-I-C-T. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 27 of the searches for derelict in either form.

derelictthe right spelling1,850 searches a month
derilicti in place of e70 searches a month

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). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.

How common is derelict?

Derelict appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th 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 derelict?

  • UK /ˈdɛr.ə.lɪkt/
  • US /ˈdɛɹəˌlɪk(t)/

Derelict has 3 syllables, split de·re·lict in writing.

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

Forms of derelict

  • more derelict comparative
  • most derelict superlative
  • derelicts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • derelicting participle, present
  • derelicted participle, past

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

What does derelict mean?

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

adjective

  1. 1

    Given up by the guardian or owner; abandoned, forsaken.

  2. 2

    Of a ship: abandoned at sea; of a spacecraft: abandoned in outer space.

    There was a derelict ship on the island.

  3. 3

    Of property: in a poor state due to abandonment or neglect; dilapidated, neglected.

  4. 4

    Adrift, lost.

  5. 5

    USNegligent in performing a duty; careless.

noun

  1. 1

    Property abandoned by its former guardian or owner; (countable) an item of such property.

  2. 2

    Property abandoned at sea with no hope of recovery and no expectation of being returned to its owner; (countable) an item of such property, especially a ship.

  3. 3

    datedAn abandoned or forsaken person; an outcast, a waif.

  4. 4

    derogatoryA homeless or jobless person; a vagrant; also, a person who is (perceived as) negligent in their hygiene and personal affairs.

  5. 5

    USA person who is negligent in performing a duty.

verb

  1. 1

    obsoleterareTo abandon or forsake (someone or something).

  2. 2

    obsoleterareTo neglect a duty.

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

Derelict in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchabandonné, délaissé, (tombé) en ruines (given up by the guardian or owner – see also…), négligent (negligent in performing a duty – see also…), épave, navire abandonné (en mer) (ship abandoned at sea with no hope of recovery)
Germanaufgegeben, verfallen, verlassen (given up by the guardian or owner – see also…), pflichtvergessen (negligent in performing a duty – see also…), aufgegeben-ein verlassenes Schiff (ship abandoned at sea with no hope of recovery)
Portuguesederrelicto, derelito, derrelito, abandonado (given up by the guardian or owner – see also…), negligente (negligent in performing a duty – see also…), pessoa negligente (person who is (perceived as) negligent in their…)
Spanishderelicto (given up by the guardian or owner – see also…), derrelicto (property abandoned at sea with no hope of…), paria (abandoned or forsaken person – see also outcast)

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.

What to look up after derelict