expound
/ɪkˈspaʊnd/verb
expound is spelled E-X-P-O-U-N-D: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 53,573rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, expound means “To set out the meaning of; to explain or discuss at length” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in expound?
| Letters | 7: E-X-P-O-U-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 53,573rd 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 expound?
Expound appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 53,573rd 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 expound?
- /ɪkˈspaʊnd/
- /ɛkˈspaʊnd/
Expound 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: En-us-expound.ogg, En-us-expound.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of expound
- expounds present, singular, he/she/it
- expounding participle, present
- expounded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does expound mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To set out the meaning of; to explain or discuss at length.
Today I'll expound at length the theory propounded last week.
- 2
To make a statement, especially at length.
He expounded often on the dangers of the imperial presidency.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Expound in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | préciser, expliciter |
| German | erläutern, erklären, darlegen , verbreiten, auslassen |
| Spanish | exponer, explayar, disertar , explayarse |
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 expound come from?
From Middle English expounden, from Old French espondre, from Latin exponere. Doublet of expone and expose.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).