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kernel

/ˈkɝ.nəl/noun, verb

kernel is spelled K-E-R-N-E-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “colonel vs kernel” about 320 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, kernel means “The core, center, or essence of an object or system” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kernel is kernels.

How many letters and syllables are in kernel?

Letters6: K-E-R-N-E-L
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing3.8 times per million words; the 13,321st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like
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); 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 kernel?

Kernel appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st 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 kernel?

  • UK /ˈkɜː.nəl/
  • US /ˈkɝ.nəl/

Kernel 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: En-au-kernel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with kernel

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

colonel vs kernel320 G

Sounds like: colonel (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with kernel?

11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as kernel from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹnəl/):

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 kernel

  • kernels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • kerneling US, participle, present
  • kernelling UK, participle, present
  • kerneled US, participle, past
  • kernelled UK, participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does kernel mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The core, center, or essence of an object or system.

    the kernel of an argument

  2. 2

    The central (usually edible) part of a nut, especially once the hard shell has been removed.

  3. 3

    A single seed of grain, especially of corn or wheat.

  4. 4

    USThe stone of certain fruits, such as peaches or plums.

  5. 5

    A small mass around which other matter is concreted; a nucleus; a concretion or hard lump in the flesh.

  6. 6

    The central part of many computer operating systems which manages the system's resources and the communication between hardware and software components.

    The Linux kernel is open-source.

  7. 7

    The core engine of any complex software system.

  8. 8

    The simplified input to an algorithm that has undergone kernelization.

verb

  1. 1

    To enclose within a kernel

  2. 2

    To crenellate

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Kernel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchfond, cœur (core or essence of an object or system), amande, cerneau (central part of a nut), grain (single seed of corn or wheat), noyau ((US) stone of certain fruits, such as peaches…)
GermanKern (core or essence of an object or system), Betriebssystemkern, Kernel ((computing) central part of many computer…)
Portuguesecerne (core or essence of an object or system), miolo (central part of a nut), grão (single seed of corn or wheat), caroço ((US) stone of certain fruits, such as peaches…), kernel, núcleo ((computing) central part of many computer…)
Spanishnúcleo (core or essence of an object or system), almendra (central part of a nut), grano (single seed of corn or wheat), hueso ((US) stone of certain fruits, such as peaches…)

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 kernel come from?

From Middle English kernel, kirnel, kürnel, from Old English cyrnel, from Proto-West Germanic *kurnil, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *kurną (“seed, grain, corn”), equivalent to corn + -le.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after kernel