kelvin
/ˈkɛlvɪn/noun
kelvin is spelled K-E-L-V-I-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kelvin means “In the International System of Units, the base unit of thermodynamic temperature; ¹⁄_(273.16) of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kelvin is kelvins.
How many letters and syllables are in kelvin?
| Letters | 6: K-E-L-V-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 19,825th 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 kelvin?
Kelvin appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th 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 kelvin?
- UK /ˈkɛlvɪn/
- US /ˈkɛlvɪn/
- US /ˈkɛlvən/
Kelvin 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-kelvin.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Kelvin.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of kelvin
- kelvins plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kelvin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
In the International System of Units, the base unit of thermodynamic temperature; ¹⁄_(273.16) of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water.
Ice melts above 273.15 kelvins.
- 2
One degree of difference on this scale, as a unit interval.
The dew point here today is only 1 kelvin above what it was yesterday.
- 3
A measurement of color warmth defined by the temperature kelvin at which an incandescent blackbody would emit a given color.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of kelvin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kelvin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense SI temperature unit:
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 kelvin come from?
Named after Irish-born Scottish physicist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).