it's
/ɪts/contraction
it's is spelled I-T-S: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 2,138 times per million words in written English, the 56th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “it's vs its” about 49,500 times a month (Google, United States). As a contraction, it's means “Contraction of it + is” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in it's?
| Letters | 3: I-T-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2,138 times per million words; the 56th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
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); 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).
How common is it's?
It's appears 2,138 times per million words in written English, the 56th 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 it's?
- /ɪts/
It's has one syllable (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-it's.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with it's
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: its (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: its.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of it's
- i's
- its
- it'sa
- 't's
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does it's mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
contraction
- 1
Contraction of it + is.
it’s too expensive; it’s coming right for us!; it's a free country
- 2
Contraction of it + has.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had cheesecake.
- 3
proscribedContraction of it + was.
When I was a kid, it's the thought that counted but, now, it's all about the Benjamins.
- 4
nonstandardThere's, there is; there're, there are.
It's a package for you by the door.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
It's in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 it's come from?
Contraction of ‘it is’, ‘it has’ or 'it was'.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).