guide
/ɡaɪd/noun, verb
guide is spelled G-U-I-D-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 56 times per million words in written English, the 1,822nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, guide means “Someone who guides, especially someone hired to show people around a place or an institution and offer information and explanation, or to lead them…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of guide is guides.
How many letters and syllables are in guide?
| Letters | 5: G-U-I-D-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 56 times per million words; the 1,822nd 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 guide?
Guide appears 56 times per million words in written English, the 1,822nd 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 guide?
- /ɡaɪd/
- /ɡɛɪd/
Guide 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-guide.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of guide
- guides plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- guiding participle, present
- guided participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does guide mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Someone who guides, especially someone hired to show people around a place or an institution and offer information and explanation, or to lead them through dangerous terrain.
The guide led us around the museum and explained the exhibits.
- 2
A document or book that offers information or instruction; guidebook.
- 3
A sign that guides people; guidepost.
- 4
Any marking or object that catches the eye to provide quick reference.
- 5
Synonym of legend, a key to symbols, abbreviations, and terms on a map, chart, etc.
- 6
A blade or channel for directing the flow of water to the buckets in a water wheel.
- 7
A grooved director for a probe or knife in surgery.
- 8
datedA strip or device to direct the compositor's eye to the line of copy being set.
verb
- 1
To serve as a guide for someone or something; to lead or direct in a way; to conduct in a course or path.
- 2
To steer or navigate, especially a ship or as a pilot.
- 3
To exert control or influence over someone or something.
- 4
To supervise the education or training of someone.
- 5
To act as a guide.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Guide in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | guide , guider |
| German | Reiseleiter, Reiseleiterin, Fremdenführer, Fremdenführerin , Anleitung, Führer |
| Portuguese | guia , guiar , indicação |
| Spanish | guía , guiar |
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 guide come from?
c. 1325–75. From Middle English guide, from the Old French guide, from Old Occitan guida, from guidar, from Frankish *wītan (“to show the way, lead”), from Proto-Germanic *wītaną (“to see, know; go, depart”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see, know”). Cognate with Old English wītan (“to see, take heed to, watch after, guard, keep”). Related also to English wit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).