establish
es·tab·lish/ɪˈstæb.lɪʃ/verb
establish is spelled E-S-T-A-B-L-I-S-H: 9 letters and 3 syllables (es·tab·lish). It appears 29 times per million words in written English, the 3,218th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, establish means “To make stable or firm; to confirm” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in establish?
| Letters | 9: E-S-T-A-B-L-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: es·tab·lish |
| In writing | 29 times per million words; the 3,218th 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 establish?
Establish appears 29 times per million words in written English, the 3,218th 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 establish?
- US /ɪˈstæb.lɪʃ/
- /əˈstɛb.ləʃ/
- /ɪˈstab.lɪʃ/
Establish has 3 syllables, split es·tab·lish in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-establish.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of establish
- establishes present, singular, he/she/it
- establishing participle, present
- established participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does establish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make stable or firm; to confirm.
- 2
To form; to found; to institute; to set up in business.
- 3
To appoint or adopt, as officers, laws, regulations, guidelines, etc.; to enact; to ordain.
- 4
To prove and cause to be accepted as true; to demonstrate.
to establish a fact
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Establish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | affermir, instaurer , établir |
| German | feststellen, etablieren , eröffnen, gründen, niederlassen, herstellen |
| Portuguese | firmar, instaurar , fundar , estabelecer , nomear |
| Spanish | establecer, establir , condir |
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.