latest
/ˈleɪ.tɪst/adjective, adverb, noun
latest is spelled L-A-T-E-S-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 83 times per million words in written English, the 1,272nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, latest means “Most recent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in latest?
| Letters | 6: L-A-T-E-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 83 times per million words; the 1,272nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is latest?
Latest appears 83 times per million words in written English, the 1,272nd 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 latest?
- US /ˈleɪ.tɪst/
Latest 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-latest.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of latest
- latests plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does latest mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
superlative form of late: most late
- 2
archaicLast, final.
- 3
Most recent.
Here is the latest news on the accident.
adverb
- 1
superlative form of late: most late
- 2
At the latest.
Complete the XYZ task latest by today 5:00PM.
noun
- 1
The most recent thing, particularly information or news.
Have you heard the latest?
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Latest in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | mais atrasado , último, mais recente |
| French | dernier en date |
| Spanish | último, más reciente, más último |
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 latest come from?
From Middle English lateste, from Old English latost, latest, lætest, superlative of læt, whence English late. Doublet of last.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).