dowel
/ˈdaʊəl/noun, verb
dowel is spelled D-O-W-E-L: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,838th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dowel means “A pin, or block, of wood or metal, fitting into holes in the abutting portions of two pieces, and being partly in one piece and partly in the other…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dowel is dowels.
How many letters and syllables are in dowel?
| Letters | 5: D-O-W-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,838th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is dowel?
Dowel appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,838th 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 dowel?
- /ˈdaʊəl/
Dowel has 2 syllables (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-dowel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dowel
- dowels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- doweling US, participle, present
- dowelling UK, participle, present
- doweled US, participle, past
- dowelled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dowel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A pin, or block, of wood or metal, fitting into holes in the abutting portions of two pieces, and being partly in one piece and partly in the other, to keep them in their proper relative position.
- 2
A wooden rod, as one to make short pins from.
- 3
A piece of wood or similar material fitted into a surface not suitable for fastening so that other pieces may be fastened to it.
verb
- 1
To fasten together with dowels.
- 2
To furnish with dowels.
A cooper dowels pieces for the head of a cask.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dowel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cheville, goujon |
| German | Dübel, Holzdübel, Feder, Verbinder |
| Portuguese | cavilha , bucha |
| Spanish | clavija, taco, espiga, tarugo, torillo , clavija lignaria |
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 dowel come from?
From Middle English dowle, dule, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old French doelle (“the hollow part of a tool where the handle is”), from Frankish *duli (“hollow tube, pipe”), from Proto-Germanic *dulją (“pipe”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰel- (“curvature, hollow”). If so, then cognate with French douelle, douille. Alternatively from Middle Low German dövel (“peg, plug”), from Old Saxon *dubil, from Proto-Germanic *dubilaz. If so, then cognate with Dutch deuvel (“wooden peg”), German Dübel (“dowel”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).