dwell
/dwɛl/noun, verb
dwell is spelled D-W-E-L-L: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dwell means “A period of time in which a system or component remains in a given state” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dwell is dwells.
How many letters and syllables are in dwell?
| Letters | 5: D-W-E-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.7 times per million words; the 13,496th 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 dwell?
Dwell appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th 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 dwell?
- /dwɛl/
Dwell 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-dwell.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dwell
- dwells plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- dwelling participle, present
- dwelt participle, past
- dwelled US, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dwell mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A period of time in which a system or component remains in a given state.
- 2
A brief pause in the motion of part of a mechanism to allow an operation to be completed.
- 3
A planned delay in a timed control program.
- 4
In a petrol engine, the period of time the ignition points are closed to let current flow through the ignition coil in between each spark. This is measured as an angle in degrees around the camshaft in the distributor which controls the points, for example in a 4-cylinder engine it might be 55° (spark at 90° intervals, points closed for 55° between each).
verb
- 1
To live; to reside.
- 2
To linger (on); to remain fixated.
Stop dwelling on the past!
- 3
To be in a given state.
- 4
To abide; to remain; to continue.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dwell in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | résider |
| German | leben, verbleiben, wohnen , verweilen |
| Portuguese | habitar, morar, viver , remoer |
| Spanish | habitar, morar , rumiar, darle vueltas a, ponderar |
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.