idea
i·dea/aɪ̯ˈdi.ə/noun
idea is spelled I-D-E-A, 2 syllables: i·dea. The wrong spelling people search most is diea: about 60 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 141 of all searches for the word. Idea is a noun meaning “An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect…”. The plural of idea is ideas; Wiktionary also lists ideæ (rare).
How many letters and syllables are in idea?
| Letters | 4: I-D-E-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: i·dea |
| In writing | 229 times per million words; the 437th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, diea, about 60 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell idea?
Idea is spelled I-D-E-A. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 142 of the searches for idea in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is idea?
Idea appears 229 times per million words in written English, the 437th 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 idea?
- UK /aɪ̯ˈdɪə̯/
- [ɑjˈdɪː(‿ɹ)]
- US /aɪ̯ˈdi.ə/
Idea has 2 syllables, split i·dea in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-idea.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with idea
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with idea?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as idea from its last stressed vowel (/iə/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: aide.
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 idea
- ideas plural
- ideæ plural, rare
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does idea mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples.
- 2
obsoleteThe conception of someone or something as representing a perfect example; an ideal.
- 3
obsoleteThe form or shape of something; a quintessential aspect or characteristic.
- 4
An image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory.
The mere idea of you is enough to excite me.
- 5
More generally, any result of mental activity; a thought, a notion; a way of thinking.
- 6
A conception in the mind of something to be done; a plan for doing something, an intention.
I have an idea of how we might escape.
- 7
A purposeful aim or goal; intent.
Yeah, that's the idea.
- 8
A vague or fanciful notion; a feeling or hunch; an impression.
He had the wild idea that if he leant forward a little, he might be able to touch the mountain-top.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Idea in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | idée , pensée |
| German | Idee, Ahnung, Begriff |
| Portuguese | ideia , plano , noção |
| Spanish | idea , plano, ideal |
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 idea come from?
Borrowed from Latin idea (“a (Platonic) idea; archetype”), from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to know; see”). Cognate with French idée. Doublet of idée. Related to idol, idolum, and eidolon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).