former
/ˈfɔɹmɚ/adjective, noun
former is spelled F-O-R-M-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 191 times per million words in written English, the 531st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, former means “Previous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in former?
| Letters | 6: F-O-R-M-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 191 times per million words; the 531st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is former?
Former appears 191 times per million words in written English, the 531st 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 former?
- US /ˈfɔɹmɚ/
- UK /ˈfɔːmə/
Former 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-former.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with former?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as former from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹməɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: reform.
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 former
- fmr
- fmr.
- formers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does former mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Previous.
A former president
noun
- 1
The first of aforementioned two items.
The former is a good idea but the latter is not.
- 2
Someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder.
Dave was the former of the company.
- 3
An object used to form something, such as a template, gauge, or cutting die.
The brick arch was built using a wooden former.
- 4
UKSomeone in, or of, a certain form (class).
Fifth-former.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate former?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of former: fmr, fmr..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Former in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | précédent, ancien , premier, celui-là |
| German | ehemalig, vorig, früher, vorherig, vormalig, alt |
| Portuguese | anterior, ex- , primeiro, aquele |
| Spanish | anterior, antiguo , primero, primera, aquello, aquella |
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 former come from?
Inherited from Middle English former, comparative of forme (“first”), from Old English forma (“first”), descended from Proto-Germanic *frumô. Parallel to prior (via Latin), as comparative form from same Proto-Indo-European root. Related to first and fore (thence before), from Proto-Germanic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).