gratuity
/ɡɹəˈtuːətɪ/noun
gratuity is spelled G-R-A-T-U-I-T-Y: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, gratuity means “An additional payment given freely as thanks for service” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gratuity is gratuities.
How many letters and syllables are in gratuity?
| Letters | 8: G-R-A-T-U-I-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,767th 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 gratuity?
Gratuity appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th 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 gratuity?
- UK /ɡɹəˈtjuːətɪ/
- US /ɡɹəˈtuːətɪ/
Gratuity has 4 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-gratuity-noun.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-gratuity.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of gratuity
- gratuities plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gratuity mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An additional payment given freely as thanks for service.
service gratuity
- 2
Euphemistic form of fee, in contexts where such additional payments have been made obligatory.
- 3
Euphemistic form of bribe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gratuity in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense reward provided freely, without obligation:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pourboire |
| German | Zuwendung, Geldgeschenk, Gratifikation |
| Portuguese | gorjeta |
| Spanish | dádiva, gratificación, propina, yapa, ñapa, llapa |
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 gratuity come from?
From Middle French gratuité (from Old French gratuite) or directly from Medieval Latin gratuitas (“a free gift”), from Latin gratuitus (“freely given, free”); see gratuitous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).