excrete
/ɛkˈskɹiːt/verb
excrete is spelled E-X-C-R-E-T-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 66,686th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “excrete vs secrete” about 20 times a month (Bing, United States). As a verb, excrete means “To discharge material (including waste products) from a cell, body or system” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in excrete?
| Letters | 7: E-X-C-R-E-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 66,686th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is excrete?
Excrete appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 66,686th 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 excrete?
- US /ɛkˈskɹiːt/
- US /ɪkˈskɹiːt/
Excrete 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-excrete.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with excrete
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with excrete?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as excrete from its last stressed vowel (/it/):
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 excrete
- excretes present, singular, he/she/it
- excreting participle, present
- excreted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does excrete mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To discharge material (including waste products) from a cell, body or system.
Your open pores excrete sweat and dirt.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Excrete in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to discharge material:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | excréter |
| German | ausscheiden |
| Portuguese | excretar |
| Spanish | excretar |
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 excrete come from?
Borrowed from Latin excrētum, past participle of excernō, from ex- (“out”), and cernō (“separate”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).