dole
/dəʊl/noun, verb
dole is spelled D-O-L-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dole means “Distribution; dealing; apportionment” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dole is doles.
How many letters and syllables are in dole?
| Letters | 4: D-O-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 18,811th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dole?
Dole appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th 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 dole?
- UK /dəʊl/
- UK [dɒʊl]
- /dɒl/
Dole has one syllable (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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dole.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with dole
Sounds like: dhole (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with dole?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as dole from its last stressed vowel (/əʊl/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lode, delo.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dole
- doles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- doling participle, present
- doled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dole mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Distribution; dealing; apportionment.
c. 1650s, John Cleveland, Upon Phillis Walking in a Morning before Sun-rising At her general dole, / Each receives his ancient soul.
- 2
Distribution of alms or gifts.
- 3
Money or other goods given as charity.
- 4
informalPayment by the state to the unemployed; unemployment benefits.
I get my dole paid twice a week.
- 5
A boundary; a landmark.
- 6
UKA void space left in tillage.
- 7
archaicA sorrow or grief; dolour.
- 8
ScotlandDolus.
- 9
Alternative form of dhole (“Asian wild dog”).
verb
- 1
To distribute alms, etc., in small amounts; to share out small portions of a meager resource.
- 2
To distribute (as, alms) in small amounts; to share out (small portions of a meager resource).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dole in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | une allocation de chômage, assedics , distribuer |
| German | Stütze |
| Spanish | paro |
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 dole come from?
From Middle English dol, from Old English dāl (“portion, share, division, allotment”), from Proto-Germanic *dailą (“part, deal”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰayl- (“part, watershed”). Cognate with Polish dola (“fate, cut”), Old Church Slavonic дѣлити (děliti, “divide”). More at deal. First attested in the late 12th c. The verb is first attested in the mid-15th c.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).