espouse
/ɪˈspaʊz/verb
espouse is spelled E-S-P-O-U-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 verb, espouse means “To marry” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in espouse?
| Letters | 7: E-S-P-O-U-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 espouse?
Espouse 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 espouse?
- UK /ɪˈspaʊz/
- /ɪˈspaʊs/
Espouse 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-espouse.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-espouse2.wav, En-us-espouse.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of espouse
- espouses present, singular, he/she/it
- espousing participle, present
- espoused participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does espouse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To marry.
- 2
To accept, support, or take on as one’s own (an idea or a cause).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Espouse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | épouser , adopter |
| German | heiraten, ehelichen, sich vermählen mit, zur Frau nehmen, zum Mann nehmen, die Ehe eingehen mit |
| Portuguese | desposar , apoiar |
| Spanish | desposar , propugnar, promulgar, pregonar |
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 espouse come from?
From Middle English espousen, borrowed from Old French espouser, from Latin spōnsāre (frequentative of spondeō), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).