emergency
e·mer·gen·cy/ɪˈmɝ.d͡ʒən.si/noun
emergency is spelled E-M-E-R-G-E-N-C-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables (e·mer·gen·cy). It appears 52 times per million words in written English, the 1,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, emergency means “A situation which poses an immediate risk and which requires urgent attention” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of emergency is emergencies.
How many letters and syllables are in emergency?
| Letters | 9: E-M-E-R-G-E-N-C-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: e·mer·gen·cy |
| In writing | 52 times per million words; the 1,941st 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; 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 emergency?
Emergency appears 52 times per million words in written English, the 1,941st 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 emergency?
- UK /ɪˈmɜː(ɹ).dʒən.si/
- US /ɪˈmɝ.d͡ʒən.si/
- US /iˈmɝ.d͡ʒən.si/
Emergency has 4 syllables, split e·mer·gen·cy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-emergency.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with emergency?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as emergency from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹdʒənsi/):
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 emergency
- emergencies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does emergency mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A situation which poses an immediate risk and which requires urgent attention.
Cardiac arrest is an emergency requiring medical attention.
- 2
The department of a hospital that treats emergencies.
- 3
A person brought in at short notice to replace a member of staff, a player in a sporting team, etc.
November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk Van Gaal responded by replacing Adnan Januzaj with Carrick and, in fairness, the emergency centre-half did exceeding
- 4
archaicThe quality of being emergent; sudden or unexpected appearance; an unforeseen occurrence.
- 5
A critical urge to urinate or defecate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate emergency?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of emergency: Emer., emer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Emergency in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | urgence, crise , urgences |
| German | Notfall, Notlage, Notstand , Notdienst, Notaufnahme |
| Portuguese | emergência, urgência , emergências, urgências |
| Spanish | emergencia, urgencia , urgencias, emergencias |
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 emergency come from?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin emergentia, from Latin emergens, present participle of emergo (“to emerge, arise, come forth”), equivalent to emergent + -cy or emerge + -ency. Doublet of emergence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).