halitosis
/hæl.ɪˈtoʊ.sɪs/noun
halitosis is spelled H-A-L-I-T-O-S-I-S: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, halitosis means “The condition of having stale or foul-smelling breath” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of halitosis is halitoses.
How many letters and syllables are in halitosis?
| Letters | 9: H-A-L-I-T-O-S-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 84,254th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 halitosis?
Halitosis appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th 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 halitosis?
- UK /hæl.ɪˈtəʊ.sɪs/
- US /hæl.ɪˈtoʊ.sɪs/
- Australia /hæl.ɪˈtəʉ.sɪs/
Halitosis has 4 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-halitosis.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with halitosis?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as halitosis from its last stressed vowel (/oʊsɪs/):
- prognosis
- sclerosis
- psychosis
- fibrosis
- apoptosis
- necrosis
- thrombosis
- stenosis
- osmosis
- symbiosis
- scoliosis
- mitosis
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 halitosis
- halitoses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does halitosis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The condition of having stale or foul-smelling breath.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Halitosis in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense condition of having foul-smelling breath:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | halitose |
| German | Mundgeruch |
| Portuguese | halitose |
| Spanish | halitosis |
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 halitosis come from?
Coined by doctor Joseph William Howe in 1874 and described as being derived from the Latin hālitus (literally “whiff, breath”) and the Ancient Greek νόσος (nósos, literally “disease”). It can be also understood as combination of the Latin hālitus and the English suffix -osis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).