germ
/d͡ʒɝm/noun, verb
germ is spelled G-E-R-M: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, germ means “The embryo of a seed, especially of a seed used as a cereal or grain. See Wikipedia article on cereal germ” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of germ is germs.
How many letters and syllables are in germ?
| Letters | 4: G-E-R-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,362nd 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 germ?
Germ appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd 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 germ?
- UK /d͡ʒɜːm/
- US /d͡ʒɝm/
Germ has one syllable (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-germ.ogg, En-au-Germ.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with germ?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as germ from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹm/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: grem.
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 germ
- germs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- germing participle, present
- germed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does germ mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The embryo of a seed, especially of a seed used as a cereal or grain. See Wikipedia article on cereal germ.
- 2
The small mass of cells from which a part of an organism develops, or a macroscopic but immature form of that part; a bud.
surgical removal of germs of wisdom teeth
- 3
A pathogen: a pathogenic microorganism, such as a bacterium or virus.
- 4
The origin or earliest version of an idea or project.
the germ of civil liberty
- 5
An equivalence class that includes a specified function defined in an open neighborhood.
verb
- 1
To germinate.
- 2
slangTo grow, as if parasitic.
noun
- 1
UKderogatoryslanga German person.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Germ in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense mass of cells:
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 germ come from?
From Middle French germe, from Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”). Doublet of germen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).