discontinue
dis·con·tin·ue/ˌdɪskənˈtɪnju/verb
discontinue is spelled D-I-S-C-O-N-T-I-N-U-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables (dis·con·tin·ue). It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, discontinue means “To interrupt the continuance of; to put an end to, especially as regards commercial productions; to stop producing, making, or supplying” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in discontinue?
| Letters | 11: D-I-S-C-O-N-T-I-N-U-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: dis·con·tin·ue |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,070th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is discontinue?
Discontinue appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th 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 discontinue?
- /ˌdɪskənˈtɪnju/
- [ˌdɪskʰənˈtʰɪnjʊu̯] ~ [ˌdɪskʰn̩ˈtʰɪnjʊu̯]
Discontinue has 4 syllables, split dis·con·tin·ue in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-discontinue.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of discontinue
- discontinues present, singular, he/she/it
- discontinuing participle, present
- discontinued participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does discontinue mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To interrupt the continuance of; to put an end to, especially as regards commercial productions; to stop producing, making, or supplying.
They plan to discontinue that design.
- 2
To consciously cease the ingestion or administration of (a pharmaceutical drug).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate discontinue?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of discontinue: DC, d/c.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Discontinue in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense stop a process:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | discontinuer, arrêter, interrompre, cesser la production de, retirer du marché |
| German | einstellen, auslaufen lassen |
| Portuguese | descontinuar |
| Spanish | descontinuar, descatalogar, discontinuar |
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 discontinue come from?
From Old French descontinuer, equivalent to dis- + continue.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).