embed
/ɪmˈbɛd/verb, noun
embed is spelled E-M-B-E-D: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,168th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “embed vs imbed” about 50 times a month (Bing, United States). As a verb, embed means “To lay (something) as in a bed; to lay in surrounding matter; to bed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in embed?
| Letters | 5: E-M-B-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,168th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); 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).
How common is embed?
Embed appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,168th 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 embed?
- /ɪmˈbɛd/
- /ɛmˈbɛd/
As a noun (“An embedded reporter or journalist, such as a war reporter…”): /ˈɛm.bɛd/.
Embed 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: En-us-embed.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with embed
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: imbed.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of embed
- embeds present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- embedding participle, present
- embedded participle, past
- imbed
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does embed mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To lay (something) as in a bed; to lay in surrounding matter; to bed.
to embed something in clay, mortar, or sand
- 2
To include (something) in surrounding matter.
We wanted to embed our reporter with the Fifth Infantry Division, but the Army would have none of it.
- 3
To encapsulate within another document or data file.
The instructions showed how to embed a chart from the spreadsheet within the wordprocessor document.
- 4
To define a one-to-one function from one set to another so that certain properties of the domain are preserved when considering the image as a subset of the codomain.
The torus S¹#92;timesS¹ can be embedded in #92;mathbb#123;R#125;³.
noun
- 1
An embedded reporter or journalist, such as a war reporter assigned to and travelling with a military unit, or a political reporter assigned to follow and report on the campaign of a candidate.
- 2
An element of an advertisement, etc. serving as a subliminal message.
- 3
A digital object embedded within another, which is often a document.
- 4
A piece of computer hardware embedded within another physical object, which is often a larger IT device.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Embed in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | insérer, encastrer, incruster , plonger dans |
| German | betten, einbetten |
| Portuguese | encaixar, colocar, embutir , incluir, incorporar |
| Spanish | embutir, empotrar, embeber , incrustar, incluir |
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 embed come from?
From em- + bed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).