epiglottis
/ˌɛp.ɪˈɡlɑ.tɪs/noun
epiglottis is spelled E-P-I-G-L-O-T-T-I-S: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 107,757th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, epiglottis means “A cartilaginous organ in the throat of terrestrial vertebrates covering the glottis when swallowing to prevent food and liquid from entering the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of epiglottis is epiglottises or epiglottides.
How many letters and syllables are in epiglottis?
| Letters | 10: E-P-I-G-L-O-T-T-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 107,757th 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 epiglottis?
Epiglottis appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 107,757th 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 epiglottis?
- UK /ˌɛp.ɪˈɡlɒt.ɪs/
- US /ˌɛp.ɪˈɡlɑ.tɪs/
- US [ˌɛp.ɪˈɡlɑ.ɾɪs]
Epiglottis has 4 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-epiglottis.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with epiglottis?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as epiglottis from its last stressed vowel (/ɑtɪs/):
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 epiglottis
- epiglottises plural
- epiglottides plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does epiglottis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A cartilaginous organ in the throat of terrestrial vertebrates covering the glottis when swallowing to prevent food and liquid from entering the trachea, and in Homo sapiens also a speech organ.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Epiglottis in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense cartilaginous organ:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | épiglotte |
| German | Epiglottis |
| Portuguese | epiglote |
| Spanish | epiglotis |
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.