inspect
/ɪnˈspɛkt/verb
inspect is spelled I-N-S-P-E-C-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, inspect means “To examine critically or carefully; especially, to search out problems or determine condition; to scrutinize” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in inspect?
| Letters | 7: I-N-S-P-E-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.3 times per million words; the 12,397th 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 inspect?
Inspect appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th 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 inspect?
- /ɪnˈspɛkt/
Inspect 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: En-us-inspect.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of inspect
- inspects present, singular, he/she/it
- inspecting participle, present
- inspected participle, past
- enspect
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does inspect mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To examine critically or carefully; especially, to search out problems or determine condition; to scrutinize.
Inspect the system for leaks.
- 2
To observe the status or nature of an object beyond what is found obvious upon its initial presentation; to 'view within' the object.
After speaking with the building owner, hearing that the building's steam pipes were over eighty years old, and noticing areas where the pipes had been patched with duct tape, we decided to thoroughly inspect the system for leaks.
- 3
To examine officially.
The general inspected the troops and their barracks.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Inspect in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | begutachten, untersuchen, inspizieren , prüfen |
| Portuguese | inspecionar |
| Spanish | inspeccionar , pasar revista |
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 inspect come from?
From Latin inspectum, past participle of inspicere (“to look into”), from in (“in”) + specere (“to look at”), equivalent to in- + -spect.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).