embrace
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
7 characters
Language
English
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "embrace", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "embrace" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "embrace" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
embrace is aEnglishverb. It means: To clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection; to take in the arms; to hug. Pronounced /ɛmˈbɹes/. It ranks #5,494 in English word frequency. Often confused with emirate and embraced.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | embrace |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɛmˈbɹes/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #5,494 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for embrace is 7 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɛmˈbɹes/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,494 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for embrace, with forms such as "ebmrace", "embarce", and "embbrace". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "emirate", "embraced", "embraces", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle English embracen (“to clasp in one's arms, embrace; to reach out eagerly for, welcome; to enfold, entwine; to ensnare, entangle; to twist, wrap around; to gird, put on; to lace; to be in or put into bonds; to put a shield on … Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is embrace, spelled E-M-B-R-A-C-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1To clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection; to take in the arms; to hug.
- 2To seize (something) eagerly or with alacrity; to accept or take up with cordiality; to welcome.
- 3To submit to; to undergo.
- 4To encircle; to enclose, to encompass.
- 5To enfold, to include (ideas, principles, etc.); to encompass.
- 6To fasten on, as armour.
- 7To accept (someone) as a friend; to accept (someone's) help gladly.
- 8To attempt to influence (a court, jury, etc.) corruptly; to practise embracery.
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English embracen (“to clasp in one's arms, embrace; to reach out eagerly for, welcome; to enfold, entwine; to ensnare, entangle; to twist, wrap around; to gird, put on; to lace; to be in or put into bonds; to put a shield on the arm; to grasp (a shield or spear); to acquire, take hold of; to receive; to undertake; to affect, influence; to incite; to unlawfully influence a jury; to surround; to conceal, cover; to shelter; to protect; to comfort; to comprehend, understand”) [and other forms], from Old French embracer, embracier (“to kiss”) (modern French embrasser (“to kiss; (dated) to embrace, hug”)), from Late Latin *imbracchiāre, from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’)) + bracchium (“arm”). The English word is analysable as em- + brace. The noun is derived from the verb.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ebmrace,embarce,embbrace,embracce,embraec,embrcae,embrrace,emmbrace,emrbace,mebrace
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for embrace
Misspelling Variants of "embrace"
Frequency rank: #5,494 in English
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter E in our English index: