kennel
ken·nel/ˈkɛn.əl/noun, verb
kennel is spelled K-E-N-N-E-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables (ken·nel). It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kennel means “A house or shelter for a dog” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kennel is kennels.
How many letters and syllables are in kennel?
| Letters | 6: K-E-N-N-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ken·nel |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,536th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is kennel?
Kennel appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th 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 kennel?
- /ˈkɛn.əl/
- [ˈkʰɛn.əl] ~ [ˈkʰɛn.l̩]
Kennel has 2 syllables, split ken·nel in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-kennel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of kennel
- kennels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- kenneling US, participle, present
- kennelling UK, participle, present
- kenneled US, participle, past
- kennelled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kennel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A house or shelter for a dog.
– We want to look at the dog kennels. – That's the pet department, second floor.
- 2
A facility at which dogs are reared or boarded.
The town dog-catcher operates the kennel for strays.
- 3
UKThe dogs kept at a dog-boarding facility; a pack of hounds.
- 4
The hole of a fox or other animal.
- 5
obsoleteThe gutter at the edge of a street; a surface drain.
- 6
obsoleteA puddle.
verb
- 1
To house or board a dog (or less commonly another animal).
While we're away our friends will kennel our pet poodle.
- 2
To lie or lodge; to dwell, as a dog or a fox.
- 3
To drive (a fox) to covert in its hole.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kennel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | niche , chenil |
| German | Hundehütte, Zwinger, Hundezwinger , Hundeasyl, Hundeheim, Hundezucht |
| Portuguese | canil, casota, casinha de cachorro |
| Spanish | perrera, caseta, canil, cucha, transportín |
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 kennel come from?
From Middle English kenel, kenell, borrowed from Anglo-Norman *kenil, northern variant of Old French chenil, from Vulgar Latin *canīle, from Latin canis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).