exercise
ex·er·cise/ˈɛk.sɚ.saɪz/noun, verb
exercise is spelled E-X-E-R-C-I-S-E, 3 syllables: ex·er·cise. The wrong spelling people search most is excercise: about 1,060 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 18 of all searches for the word. Exercise is a noun meaning “Any activity designed to develop or hone a skill or ability”. The plural of exercise is exercises.
How many letters and syllables are in exercise?
| Letters | 8: E-X-E-R-C-I-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ex·er·cise |
| In writing | 48 times per million words; the 2,113th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 4; the most searched, excercise, about 1,060 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Pairs people 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); 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).
How do you spell exercise?
Exercise is spelled E-X-E-R-C-I-S-E. 4 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 10 of the searches for exercise in either form.
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). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is exercise?
Exercise appears 48 times per million words in written English, the 2,113th 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 exercise?
- UK /ˈɛk.sə.saɪz/
- US /ˈɛk.sɚ.saɪz/
- Australia /ˈek.sə.sɑez/
Exercise has 3 syllables, split ex·er·cise in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-exercise.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with exercise
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).
Forms of exercise
- exercises plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- exercice
- exercising participle, present
- exercised participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does exercise mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any activity designed to develop or hone a skill or ability.
The teacher told us that the next exercise is to write an essay.
- 2
Activity intended to improve physical, or sometimes mental, strength and fitness.
I like to do my exercises every morning before breakfast. I do calisthenics for physical exercise, and I do crosswords for mental exercise.
- 3
Such activity of physical nature, for physical fitness (plus also mental benefit).
Swimming is good exercise.
- 4
Such activity of mental nature, for neurocognitive health.
Such exercises as puzzles and chess can help keep the mind sharp as we age.
- 5
A setting in action or practicing; employment in the proper mode of activity; exertion; application; use.
The law guarantees us the free exercise of our rights.
- 6
The performance of an office, ceremony, or duty.
I assisted the ailing vicar in the exercise of his parish duties.
- 7
obsoleteThat which gives practice; a trial; a test.
verb
- 1
To exert for the sake of training or improvement; to practice in order to develop.
to exercise troops or horses; to exercise one's brain with a puzzle
- 2
To perform physical activity for health or training.
I exercise at the gym every day.
- 3
To use (a right, an option, etc.); to put into practice.
exercise caution
- 4
To occupy the attention and effort of; to task; to tax, especially in a painful or vexatious manner; harass; to vex; to worry or make anxious.
exercised with pain
- 5
obsoleteTo set in action; to cause to act, move, or make exertion; to give employment to.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate exercise?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of exercise: ex..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Exercise in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | exercice , exercer |
| German | Übung , üben, trainieren , Training, Sport , sich bewegen |
| Portuguese | exercício , exercitar-se , fazer exercício , exercer , agir, proceder |
| Spanish | ejercicio , ejercitar , ejercitación , hacer ejercicio , ejercer |
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 exercise come from?
From Middle English exercise, from Old French exercise, from Latin exercitium.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).