kerb
/kɝb/noun, verb
kerb is spelled K-E-R-B: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “curb vs kerb” about 140 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, kerb means “Alternative spelling of curb” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kerb is kerbs.
How many letters and syllables are in kerb?
| Letters | 4: K-E-R-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 46,473rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is kerb?
Kerb appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd 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 kerb?
- US /kɝb/
- UK /kɜːb/
Kerb 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-au-kerb.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with kerb
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: curb (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: curb.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with kerb?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as kerb from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹb/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: brek.
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 kerb
- kerbs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- curb US
- kerbing participle, present
- kerbed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kerb mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
UKAlternative spelling of curb.
verb
- 1
UKTo damage vehicle wheels or tyres by running into or over a pavement kerb.
- 2
To take a dog to the kerb for the purpose of evacuating their bowels.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does kerb come from?
From curb (“raised border or frame”) [from mid-17th c.]. Doublet of curve.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).