doom
/duːm/noun, verb, phrase
doom is spelled D-O-O-M: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, doom means “Destiny, especially terrible” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of doom is dooms.
How many letters and syllables are in doom?
| Letters | 4: D-O-O-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.5 times per million words; the 9,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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 doom?
Doom appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd 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 doom?
- /duːm/
Doom 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: En-us-doom.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with doom?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as doom.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: mood.
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 doom
- dooms plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- dooming participle, present
- doomed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does doom mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Destiny, especially terrible.
- 2
An undesirable fate; an impending severe occurrence or danger that seems inevitable.
- 3
Dread; a feeling of danger, impending danger, darkness, or despair.
- 4
obsoleteA law.
- 5
obsoleteA judgment or decision.
- 6
obsoleteA sentence or penalty for illegal behaviour.
- 7
Death.
They met an untimely doom when the mineshaft caved in.
- 8
The Last Judgment; or, an artistic representation thereof.
verb
- 1
To pronounce judgment or sentence on; to condemn.
a criminal doomed to death
- 2
To destine; to fix irrevocably the ill fate of.
- 3
obsoleteTo judge; to estimate or determine as a judge.
- 4
obsoleteTo ordain as a penalty; hence, to mulct or fine.
- 5
archaicTo assess a tax upon, by estimate or at discretion.
- 6
To be extremely pessimistic about something.
phrase
- 1
Alternative form of doom (“didn't organize, only moved”).
phrase
- 1
Initialism of didn't organize, only moved; used in compounds designating a miscellaneous collection of items which one has failed to properly organize.
I tried to organize my stuff but just ended up making a big doom pile.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Doom in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | décret , jugement, décision , condamnation, verdict , condamner |
| German | Bann , Urteil, Verbannung , Strafe , verurteilen , Untergang |
| Portuguese | condenar |
| Spanish | condenar, dañar, anatematizar, execrar |
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 doom come from?
From Middle English doom, dom, from Old English dōm (“judgement”), from Proto-West Germanic *dōm, from Proto-Germanic *dōmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰóh₁mos.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).