kerning
/ˈkɝnɪŋ/noun, verb
kerning is spelled K-E-R-N-I-N-G: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 115,751st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kerning means “The adjustment of the horizontal space between selected pairs of glyphs in a typeface” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kerning is kernings.
How many letters and syllables are in kerning?
| Letters | 7: K-E-R-N-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 115,751st 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; 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 kerning?
Kerning appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 115,751st 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 kerning?
- US /ˈkɝnɪŋ/
- UK /ˈkɜːnɪŋ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What rhymes with kerning?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as kerning from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹnɪŋ/):
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 kerning
- kernings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kerning mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The adjustment of the horizontal space between selected pairs of glyphs in a typeface.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of kern
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kerning in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense adjustment of the horizontal space between selected pairs of glyphs:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | crénage |
| German | Unterschneidung |
| Portuguese | entreletra compensada, compensação, espaçamento entreletras compensado, espacejamento entreletras compensado, kerning |
| Spanish | cranaje, interletraje, cran |
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 kerning come from?
From kern (“part of a letter which extends into the space used by another letter”) + -ing, from French carne (“corner”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).