fever
fe·ver/ˈfivɚ/noun, verb
fever is spelled F-E-V-E-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables (fe·ver). It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fever means “A higher than normal body temperature of a person (or, generally, a mammal), usually caused by disease” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of fever is fevers.
How many letters and syllables are in fever?
| Letters | 5: F-E-V-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: fe·ver |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,934th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is fever?
Fever appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th 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 fever?
- UK /ˈfiːvə/
- US /ˈfivɚ/
Fever has 2 syllables, split fe·ver in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-fever.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with fever?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as fever from its last stressed vowel (/ivəɹ/):
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 fever
- fevers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- fevering participle, present
- fevered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fever mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A higher than normal body temperature of a person (or, generally, a mammal), usually caused by disease.
There has been a rise in my fever. I think I've the flu.
- 2
Any of various diseases.
scarlet fever
- 3
A state of excitement or anxiety.
- 4
A group of stingrays.
- 5
derogatoryslangSexual attraction towards a specific group of people.
Asian fever
verb
- 1
To put into a fever; to affect with fever.
a fevered lip
- 2
To become fevered.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fever in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense higher than normal body temperature:
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 fever come from?
From Middle English fever, fevere, from Old English fefer, fefor (“fever”) and Old French fievre (“fever”), from Latin febris (“a fever”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn”). Displaced native Old English hriþ (“fever”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Fiewer, German Fieber, Danish feber, Swedish feber.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).