forceps
/ˈfoɹsɛps/noun
forceps is spelled F-O-R-C-E-P-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, forceps means “An instrument used in surgery or medical procedures for grasping and holding objects, similar to tongs or pincers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of forceps is forcipes or forcepses.
How many letters and syllables are in forceps?
| Letters | 7: F-O-R-C-E-P-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd 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 forceps?
Forceps appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd 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 forceps?
- UK /ˈfɔːsɛps/
- UK /ˈfɔːsəps/
- US /ˈfoɹsɛps/
Forceps 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-forceps.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of forceps
- forcipes plural
- forcepses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does forceps mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An instrument used in surgery or medical procedures for grasping and holding objects, similar to tongs or pincers.
- 2
A pair of appendages on the abdomen of some insects, such as earwigs, resembling the medical instrument.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forceps in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense instrument used in surgery:
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 forceps come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin forceps.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).