jot
/d͡ʒɑt/noun, verb
jot is spelled J-O-T: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, jot means “The smallest letter or stroke of any writing; an iota” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of jot is jots.
How many letters and syllables are in jot?
| Letters | 3: J-O-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is jot?
Jot appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th 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 jot?
- UK /d͡ʒɒt/
- [d͡ʒɔʔ]
- US /d͡ʒɑt/
Jot 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-jot.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with jot?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as jot from its last stressed vowel (/ɑt/):
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 jot
- jots plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- jotting participle, present
- jotted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does jot mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The smallest letter or stroke of any writing; an iota.
- 2
A small, or the smallest, amount of a thing; a bit, a whit.
He didn’t care a jot for his work.
- 3
obsoleteAn instant, a moment.
- 4
A brief and hurriedly written note.
- 5
obsoleterareA jerk, a jolt.
verb
- 1
Chiefly followed by down: to write (something) quickly; to make a brief note of (something).
Tell me your order so I can jot it down.
- 2
To jerk or jolt (something); to jog.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Jot in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | jota, pizca |
| French | noter au brouillon |
| German | schnell hinschreiben, kurz notieren |
| Portuguese | rabiscar |
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 jot come from?
The noun is borrowed from Latin iōta (“the letter iota of the Ancient Greek alphabet”), from Ancient Greek ἰῶτα (iôta, “ninth letter of the Ancient Greek alphabet; (figurative) very small part of writing, jot”), from Phoenician 𐤉 (y, “tenth letter of the Phoenician abjad, yodh”). Doublet of iota and yodh. Etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“brief and hurriedly written note”) is derived from the verb. The verb is probably borrowed from Scots jot, from English jot (noun): see above.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).