IQ
/ˌaɪ ˈkjuː/noun, adjective
IQ is spelled I-Q: 2 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, IQ means “Initialism of intelligence quotient” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of IQ is IQs.
How many letters and syllables are in IQ?
| Letters | 2: I-Q |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.9 times per million words; the 11,373rd 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 IQ?
IQ appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd 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 IQ?
- /ˌaɪ ˈkjuː/
IQ 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-IQ.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of IQ
- IQs plural
- I.Q.
- more IQ comparative
- most IQ superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does IQ mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Initialism of intelligence quotient.
- 2
Initialism of image quality.
- 3
Initialism of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit traditional knowledge).
adjective
- 1
slangSmart, intelligent.
That was an IQ play!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
IQ in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense abbreviation of intelligence quotient:
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.