imbibe
/ɪmˈbaɪb/verb
imbibe is spelled I-M-B-I-B-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,114th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, imbibe means “To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in imbibe?
| Letters | 6: I-M-B-I-B-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,114th 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 imbibe?
Imbibe appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,114th 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 imbibe?
- /ɪmˈbaɪb/
Imbibe 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-imbibe.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of imbibe
- imbibes present, singular, he/she/it
- imbibing participle, present
- imbibed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does imbibe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages).
- 2
To take in; absorb.
to imbibe knowledge
- 3
obsoleteTo steep; to cause to absorb liquid.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Imbibe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | boire , absorber |
| German | trinken , vereinnahmen |
| Portuguese | beber , embeber |
| Spanish | beber , embeber |
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 imbibe come from?
From Middle English imbiben, from Latin imbibō, from im- + bibō (“to drink”) (whence also beverage), from Proto-Italic *pibō, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₃-, whence also potable, potion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).