knowing
/ˈnoʊɪŋ/adjective, preposition, noun, verb
knowing is spelled K-N-O-W-I-N-G. The wrong spelling people search most is knowning: about 10 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 105 of all searches for the word. Knowing is an adjective meaning “Possessing knowledge or understanding; knowledgeable, intelligent”.
How many letters and syllables are in knowing?
| Letters | 7: K-N-O-W-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 58 times per million words; the 1,793rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, knowning, about 10 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| 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 do you spell knowing?
Knowing is spelled K-N-O-W-I-N-G. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 105 of the searches for knowing in either form.
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). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is knowing?
Knowing appears 58 times per million words in written English, the 1,793rd 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 knowing?
- UK /ˈnəʊɪŋ/
- /naːɪn/
- US /ˈnoʊɪŋ/
Knowing 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-us-knowing.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with knowing?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as knowing from its last stressed vowel (/oʊɪŋ/):
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 knowing
- more knowing comparative
- most knowing superlative
- knowings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does knowing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Possessing knowledge or understanding; knowledgeable, intelligent.
- 2
Deliberate, wilful.
- 3
Shrewd or showing clever awareness; discerning.
a knowing rascal
- 4
archaicDemonstrating knowledge of what is in fashion; stylish, chic.
- 5
Suggestive of private knowledge or understanding.
preposition
- 1
Given my knowledge about someone or something.
Knowing you, you would try not to be late for school.
noun
- 1
The act or condition of having knowledge.
Sensations then, are not perceivings, observings or findings; they are not detectings, scannings or inspectings; they are not apprehendings, cognisings, intuitings or knowings.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of know
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Knowing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense intelligent:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | sabiente, conocedor, conociente, sabido, cognoscente, sabedor |
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 knowing come from?
From know + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).