herb
/(h)ɝb/noun
herb is spelled H-E-R-B: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Herb, the name). As a noun, herb means “A plant whose stem is not woody and does not persist beyond each growing season” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of herb is herbs.
How many letters and syllables are in herb?
| Letters | 4: H-E-R-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.9 times per million words; the 10,028th 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 herb?
Herb appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Herb, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce herb?
- UK /hɜːb/
- US /(h)ɝb/
Herb 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-au-herb.ogg, En-us-herb.ogg, En-us-va-herb.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with herb?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as herb from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹb/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: breh.
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 herb
- herbs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does herb mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A plant whose stem is not woody and does not persist beyond each growing season.
- 2
archaicGrass; herbage.
- 3
Any green, leafy plant, or parts thereof, used to flavour or season food.
- 4
A plant whose roots, leaves or seeds, etc. are used in medicine.
If any medicinal herbs used by witches were supposedly evil, then how come people from at least the past benefited from the healing properties of such herbs?
- 5
slangCannabis.
- 6
USslang(always with pronounced /h/) A lame or uncool person.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Herb in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | herbe aromatique , herbe médicinale , herbe |
| German | Küchenkraut , Heilkraut , Kraut |
| Portuguese | erva, tempero , erva medicinal |
| Spanish | hierba culinaria , planta medicinal , hierba |
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 herb come from?
From Middle English herbe, erbe, from Old French erbe (French herbe), from Latin herba. Initial h was restored to the spelling in the 15th century on the basis of Latin, but it remained mute until the 19th century and still is for many speakers. Doublet of yerba.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).