espresso
es·pres·so/ɛˈspɹɛsəʊ/noun
espresso is spelled E-S-P-R-E-S-S-O: 8 letters and 3 syllables (es·pres·so). It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, espresso means “A concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of espresso is espressos or espressi.
How many letters and syllables are in espresso?
| Letters | 8: E-S-P-R-E-S-S-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: es·pres·so |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is espresso?
Espresso appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd 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 espresso?
- UK /ɛˈspɹɛsəʊ/
- UK /ɪˈspɹɛsəʊ/
- UK /əˈspɹɛsəʊ/
Espresso has 3 syllables, split es·pres·so in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-espresso.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of espresso
- espressos plural
- espressi plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does espresso mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee.
- 2
A drink that includes espresso as an ingredient.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Espresso in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense strong type of coffee:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | café express, express, café expresso, expresso, café espresso, espresso |
| German | Espresso |
| Portuguese | café expresso, expresso, bica, cimbalino |
| Spanish | espresso, expreso, café exprés |
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 espresso come from?
Borrowed from Italian espresso, from caffè espresso (“pressed-out coffee”), form of esprimere (“to press out”), from Latin exprimere, from ex- (“out”) + primere (“to press”). Some sources derive the term from "expressly" ("individually, directly") made for the customer, or from the Italian espresso ("fast"), as in the English word express ("fast"), although these explanations are not widely accepted.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).