describe
de·scribe[dɪˈskɹaɪ̯b]verb
describe is spelled D-E-S-C-R-I-B-E, 2 syllables: de·scribe. The wrong spelling people search most is discribe: about 110 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 16 of all searches for the word. Describe is a verb meaning “To represent in words”.
How many letters and syllables are in describe?
| Letters | 8: D-E-S-C-R-I-B-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: de·scribe |
| In writing | 36 times per million words; the 2,669th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 3; the most searched, discribe, about 110 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 describe?
Describe is spelled D-E-S-C-R-I-B-E. 3 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 13 of the searches for describe in either form.
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 describe?
Describe appears 36 times per million words in written English, the 2,669th 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 describe?
- /dɪˈskɹaɪb/
- /dəˈskɹaɪb/
- UK [dɪˈskɹaɪ̯b]
Describe has 2 syllables, split de·scribe in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-describe.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of describe
- describes present, singular, he/she/it
- describing participle, present
- described participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does describe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To represent in words.
The feeling is difficult to describe, but not unpleasant.
- 2
To represent by drawing; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace or mark out.
to describe a circle by the compasses; a torch waved about the head in such a way as to describe a circle
- 3
To give rise to a geometrical structure.
The function describes a very complex surface.
- 4
To introduce a new taxon to science by explaining its characteristics and particularly how it differs from other taxa.
The fungus was first described by a botanist.
- 5
obsoleteTo distribute into parts, groups, or classes; to mark off; to class.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Describe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to represent in words:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | décrire |
| German | beschreiben |
| Portuguese | descrever |
| Spanish | describir |
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 describe come from?
From Middle English descriven, from Old French descrivre, from Latin dēscrībō (“to copy off, transcribe, sketch off, describe in painting or writing”), from dē (“off”) + scrībō (“write”); see scribe and shrive. Displaced native Old English āmearcian.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).