# discrete

> English word · Adjective · IPA /dɪˈskɹiːt/ · frequency rank #13,700

## Definitions
1. Separate; distinct; individual; non-continuous.
2. That can be perceived individually, not as connected to, or part of, something else.
3. Consisting of or permitting only distinct values drawn from a finite, countable set.
4. Having separate electronic components, such as individual diodes, transistors and resistors, as opposed to integrated circuitry.
5. Having separate and independent channels of audio, as opposed to multiplexed stereo or quadraphonic, or other multi-channel sound.
6. Having each singleton subset open: said of a topological space or a topology.
7. Disjunctive; containing a disjunctive or discretive clause.

## Etymology
From Old French discret, from Latin discrētus, past participle of discernō (“divide”), from dis- + cernō (“sift”). Doublet of discreet.

## Easily confused with
- **discreet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/discreet-vs-discrete)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ddiscrete`, `dicsrete`, `disccrete`, `discerte`, `discrette`, `discrrete`, `discrtee`, `disrcete`, `disscrete`, `dsicrete`, `idscrete`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/discrete