gambit
/ˈɡæmbɪt/noun, verb
gambit is spelled G-A-M-B-I-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “gambit vs gamut” about 590 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, gambit means “An opening in chess in which material is sacrificed to gain an advantage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gambit is gambits.
How many letters and syllables are in gambit?
| Letters | 6: G-A-M-B-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is gambit?
Gambit appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th 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 gambit?
- US /ˈɡæmbɪt/
Gambit 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-gambit.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with gambit
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with gambit?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as gambit from its last stressed vowel (/æmbɪt/):
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 gambit
- gambits plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- gambiting participle, present
- gambited participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gambit mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An opening in chess in which material is sacrificed to gain an advantage.
Her clever gambit gave her an advantage.
- 2
Any ploy or stratagem.
Their promise to lower taxes is clearly an election-year gambit.
- 3
A remark intended to open a conversation.
verb
- 1
To sacrifice (a pawn or minor piece) to gain an advantage.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gambit in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gambit , stratagème |
| German | Gambit |
| Portuguese | gambito , jogada, estratagema |
| Spanish | gambito , estratagema , tema |
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 gambit come from?
Borrowed from Italian gambetto (“act of tripping; gambit”), from gamba (“leg”) + -etto (diminutive suffix). First attested in 1656.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).