effect
ef·fect/ɪˈfɛkt/noun, verb
effect is spelled E-F-F-E-C-T, 2 syllables: ef·fect. The wrong spelling people search most is efect: about 60 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 70 of all searches for the word. Effect is a noun meaning “The result or outcome of a cause”. The plural of effect is effects.
How many letters and syllables are in effect?
| Letters | 6: E-F-F-E-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ef·fect |
| In writing | 105 times per million words; the 1,021st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, efect, about 60 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell effect?
Effect is spelled E-F-F-E-C-T. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 70 of the searches for effect in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is effect?
Effect appears 105 times per million words in written English, the 1,021st 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 effect?
- US /ɪˈfɛkt/
- /əˈfɛkt/
- Australia /ɪˈfekt/
Effect has 2 syllables, split ef·fect in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-effect.wav, En-us-effect.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Grendelkhan-effect.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with effect
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with effect?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as effect from its last stressed vowel (/ɛkt/):
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 effect
- effects plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- effecting participle, present
- effected participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does effect mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The result or outcome of a cause.
The effect of the hurricane was a devastated landscape.
- 2
Impression left on the mind; sensation produced.
- 3
Execution; performance; realization; operation.
- 4
The state of being binding and enforceable, as in a rule, policy, or law.
The new law will come into effect on the first day of next year.
- 5
An illusion produced by technical means (as in "special effect")
The effect of flying was most convincing.
- 6
An alteration, or device for producing an alteration, in sound after it has been produced by an instrument.
I use an echo effect here to make the sound more mysterious.
- 7
A scientific phenomenon, usually named after its discoverer.
Doppler effect
- 8
An influence or causal association between two variables.
effect size
verb
- 1
To make or bring about; to implement.
The best way to effect change is to work with existing stakeholders.
Wiktionary also records effect as a common misspelling of another word in some uses; the senses above are its own.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Effect in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | effet , effets , effectuer |
| German | Auswirkung, Wirkung , bewirken, veranlassen , Eindruck, Effekt |
| Portuguese | efeito , efetuar , efeitos especiais , efeito sonoro , vigência, vigor |
| Spanish | efecto , hacer efecto , efectos, efectos especiales , vigencia, vigor |
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.