ellipse
/ɪˈlɪps/noun, verb
ellipse is spelled E-L-L-I-P-S-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ellipse means “A closed curve, the locus of a point such that the sum of the distances from that point to two other fixed points (called the foci of the ellipse) is…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ellipse is ellipses.
How many letters and syllables are in ellipse?
| Letters | 7: E-L-L-I-P-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,680th 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 ellipse?
Ellipse appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th 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 ellipse?
- UK /ɪˈlɪps/
- US /ɪˈlɪps/
- US /əˈlɪps/
Ellipse 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-ellipse.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ellipse
- ellipses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ellipsing participle, present
- ellipsed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ellipse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A closed curve, the locus of a point such that the sum of the distances from that point to two other fixed points (called the foci of the ellipse) is constant; equivalently, the conic section that is the intersection of a cone with a plane that does not intersect the base of the cone.
Near-synonym: oval (synonymous in non-technical use)
- 2
Alternative form of ellipsis: the removal from a phrase of a word which is grammatically needed, but which is clearly understood without having to be stated.
verb
- 1
To remove from a phrase a word which is grammatically needed, but which is clearly understood without having to be stated.
In B's response to A's question:- (A: Would you like to go out?, B: I'd love to), the words that are ellipsed are go out.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ellipse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense curve:
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 ellipse come from?
From French ellipse. Learned borrowing from Latin ellīpsis, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἔλλειψις (élleipsis). Doublet of ellipsis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).