eleven
/əˈlɛv.ən/number, noun
eleven is spelled E-L-E-V-E-N: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,878th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a number, eleven means “The cardinal number occurring after ten and before twelve. Represented as 11 in Arabic digits” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in eleven?
| Letters | 6: E-L-E-V-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,878th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 eleven?
Eleven appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,878th 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 eleven?
- UK /ɪˈlɛv.ən/
- US /əˈlɛv.ən/
- US /i-/
Eleven has 3 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: En-us-eleven.ogg, En-au-eleven.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with eleven?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as eleven from its last stressed vowel (/ɛvən/):
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 eleven
- leven
- 'leven
- leben
- elevens plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does eleven mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
number
- 1
The cardinal number occurring after ten and before twelve. Represented as 11 in Arabic digits.
noun
- 1
A cricket team of eleven players. Hence first eleven - the team of best cricket players (at a school), second eleven - the "B" team, etc.
- 2
A football team of eleven players; the starting lineup.
- 3
USslangAn exceptional specimen, (particularly) a physically attractive person.
- 4
USslangA very high level of intensity.
Wiktionary also records eleven 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).
Eleven in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the cardinal number occurring after ten and before twelve:
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 eleven come from?
From Middle English elleven, enleven, eleven, from Old English endleofan; from Proto-Germanic *ainalif (“one left”) (i.e., one left over after having already counted to ten), a compound of *ainaz and *-lif, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“leave, remain”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).