hornet
/ˈhɔɹ.nɪt/noun
hornet is spelled H-O-R-N-E-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hornet means “Any large wasp of the genus Vespa, having a brown-and-yellow-striped body and the ability to inflict a serious sting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hornet is hornets.
How many letters and syllables are in hornet?
| Letters | 6: H-O-R-N-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,835th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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 hornet?
Hornet appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th 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 hornet?
- UK /ˈhɔː.nɪt/
- US /ˈhɔɹ.nɪt/
Hornet has 2 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hornet.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hornet?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as hornet (/ɔɹnɪt/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: throne, nother.
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 hornet
- hornets plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hornet mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any large wasp of the genus Vespa, having a brown-and-yellow-striped body and the ability to inflict a serious sting.
- 2
A person who pesters with petty but ceaseless attacks.
noun
- 1
someone connected with Watford Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hornet in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | frelon |
| German | Hornisse |
| Portuguese | vespão, abelha-pedreira |
| Spanish | avispón |
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 hornet come from?
From Middle English hernet, from Old English hyrnetu, hyrnete, from Proto-West Germanic *hurnutu, from Proto-Germanic *hurznutō (compare German Hornisse), alteration of Proto-Germanic *hursulǭ (compare Dutch horzel), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂sro- (“hornet”, literally “the one with horns (antennae)”), from *ḱerh₂- (“horn”) (compare Welsh creyryn (“gadfly”), Latin crābrō (“hornet”), Lithuanian širšė (“wasp”), Proto-Slavic *sьrxy (whence Old Church Slavonic сръшень (srŭšenĭ, “hornet”) and many others), Albanian grerë, grenzë (“wasp, hornet”)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).