inhibit
/ɪnˈhɪbɪt/verb
inhibit is spelled I-N-H-I-B-I-T: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, inhibit means “To hold in or hold back; to keep in check; restrain” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in inhibit?
| Letters | 7: I-N-H-I-B-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th 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 inhibit?
Inhibit appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th 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 inhibit?
- /ɪnˈhɪbɪt/
Inhibit has 3 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-inhibit.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Qwertygiy-inhibit.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of inhibit
- inhibits present, singular, he/she/it
- inhibiting participle, present
- inhibited participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does inhibit mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To hold in or hold back; to keep in check; restrain.
inhibit someone's freedom
- 2
To recuse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Inhibit in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inhiber |
| German | hemmen, hindern, sperren, verhindern |
| Portuguese | inibir |
| Spanish | inhibir, coartar , inhibirse |
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 inhibit come from?
From Latin inhibitus, perfect passive participle of inhibeō (“to hold in, check, restrain”), from in (“in, at, on”), + habeō (“to have, hold, keep”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).