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PlainSpell

groove

/ɡɹuv/noun, verb

groove is spelled G-R-O-O-V-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.5 times per million words in written English, the 10,519th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, groove means “A long, narrow channel or depression; e.g., such a slot cut into a hard material to provide a location for an engineering component, a tire groove…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of groove is grooves.

How many letters and syllables are in groove?

Letters6: G-R-O-O-V-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing5.5 times per million words; the 10,519th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is groove?

Groove appears 5.5 times per million words in written English, the 10,519th 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 groove?

  • UK /ɡɹuːv/
  • US /ɡɹuv/

Groove 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-groove.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with groove?

6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as groove from its last stressed vowel (/uv/):

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 groove

  • grooves plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • grooving participle, present
  • grooved participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does groove mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A long, narrow channel or depression; e.g., such a slot cut into a hard material to provide a location for an engineering component, a tire groove, or a geological channel or depression.

  2. 2

    A fixed routine.

  3. 3

    The middle of the strike zone in baseball where a pitch is most easily hit.

  4. 4

    A pronounced, enjoyable rhythm.

  5. 5

    datedinformalA good feeling (often as in the groove).

  6. 6

    A shaft or excavation.

  7. 7

    The optimal route around the track, or any of several such routes.

verb

  1. 1

    To cut a groove or channel in; to form into channels or grooves; to furrow.

  2. 2

    To perform, dance to, or enjoy rhythmic music.

    I was just starting to groove to the band when we had to leave.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Groove in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrainure, sillon (long, narrow channel), routine (fixed routine), groove (pronounced, enjoyable rhythm), puits (shaft in mining), faire une rainure (to cut a furrow into a surface)
GermanRille, Nut (long, narrow channel), gewöhnlicher Gang, üblicher Ablauf, übliche Routine, fester Rhythmus (fixed routine)
Portugueseranhura, sulco (long, narrow channel), rotina (fixed routine), groove (pronounced, enjoyable rhythm), poço (shaft in mining)
Spanishranura, acanaladura, canal, estría, hendidura, surco (long, narrow channel)

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 groove come from?

From Middle English grov, grove, groof, grofe (“cave; pit; mining shaft”), probably from Old Norse gróf (“pit”) or from Middle Dutch groeve (“furrow, ditch”), both from Proto-West Germanic *grōbu, from Proto-Germanic *grōbō (“groove, furrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scrape, bury”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after groove