Skip to main content
PlainSpell

express

/ɪkˈspɹɛs/adjective, noun, adverb, verb

express is spelled E-X-P-R-E-S-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 48 times per million words in written English, the 2,113th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, express means “Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in express?

Letters7: E-X-P-R-E-S-S
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing48 times per million words; the 2,113th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone 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 express?

Express 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 express?

  • /ɪkˈspɹɛs/
  • /ɛkˈspɹɛs/

Express 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-express.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of express

  • more express comparative
  • most express superlative
  • expresses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • expressing participle, present
  • expressed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does express mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.

  2. 2

    Specific or precise; directly and distinctly stated; not merely implied.

    I gave him express instructions not to begin until I arrived, but he ignored me.

  3. 3

    Truly depicted; exactly resembling.

    In my eyes it bore a livelier image of the spirit, it seemed more express and single, than the imperfect and divided countenance.

  4. 4

    Providing a more limited but presumably faster service than a full or complete dealer of the same kind or type.

    Tesco Express

noun

  1. 1

    A mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly, either on a regular schedule or as a special or excursion. Express trains often pass through stations along the way without stopping at them.

    I took the express into town.

  2. 2

    a public utility vehicle, typically a jeepney, that traverses through an expressway

  3. 3

    A service that allows mail or money to be sent rapidly from one destination to another.

  4. 4

    An express rifle.

  5. 5

    obsoleteA clear image or representation; an expression; a plain declaration.

  6. 6

    A messenger sent on a special errand; a courier.

  7. 7

    An express office.

  8. 8

    That which is sent by an express messenger or message.

  9. 9

    obsoleteThe action of conveying some idea using words or actions; communication, expression.

  10. 10

    obsoleteA specific statement or instruction.

adverb

  1. 1

    Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.

    The train runs express to 96 St.

verb

  1. 1

    To convey or communicate; to make known or explicit.

    Words cannot express the love I feel for him.

  2. 2

    To press, squeeze out (especially said of milk).

  3. 3

    To translate messenger RNA into protein.

  4. 4

    To transcribe deoxyribonucleic acid into messenger RNA.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Express in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Portugueseexpresso (moving or operating quickly), expressar (to convey meaning), espremer, extrair (to excrete or cause to excrete)
Spanishexpreso (moving or operating quickly), expresar, expremir (to convey meaning), exprimir (to excrete or cause to excrete), exprés (quick mode of transportation)
Germanausdrücken, äußern (to convey meaning), Express, Schnellzug (quick mode of transportation), ausdrücklich (specific or precise)
Frenchexprimer (to convey meaning), express (quick mode of transportation)

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 express come from?

From French exprès, from Latin expressus, past participle of exprimere (see Etymology 2, below).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after express