ingrain
/ɪŋˈɡɹeɪn/verb, adjective, noun
ingrain is spelled I-N-G-R-A-I-N: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 117,098th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “engrain vs ingrain” about 170 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, ingrain means “To dye with a fast or lasting colour” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ingrain?
| Letters | 7: I-N-G-R-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 117,098th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| 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 common is ingrain?
Ingrain appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 117,098th 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 ingrain?
- /ɪŋˈɡɹeɪn/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ingrain.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with ingrain
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: engrain.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with ingrain?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as ingrain.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: raining.
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 ingrain
- ingrains present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- ingraining participle, present
- ingrained participle, past
- engrain
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ingrain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To dye with a fast or lasting colour.
- 2
To make (something) deeply part of something else.
The dirt was deeply ingrained in the carpet.
adjective
- 1
Dyed with grain, or kermes.
- 2
Dyed before manufacture; said of the material of a textile fabric.
- 3
Thoroughly inwrought; forming an essential part of the substance.
noun
- 1
An ingrain fabric, such as a carpet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ingrain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to make something deeply part of something else:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | arraigar |
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 ingrain come from?
Inherited from Middle English engreynen, from the French phrase en grain; reinforced by the phrase (dyed) in grain. See grain.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).