loom
/lum/noun, verb
loom is spelled L-O-O-M: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, loom means “A utensil; tool; a weapon; (usually in compound) an article in general” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of loom is looms.
How many letters and syllables are in loom?
| Letters | 4: L-O-O-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| 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 loom?
Loom appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th 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 loom?
- UK /luːm/
- British /lʉwm/
- US /lum/
Loom 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-us-loom.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with loom
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with loom?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as loom from its last stressed vowel (/um/):
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 loom
- looms plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- looming participle, present
- loomed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does loom mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A utensil; tool; a weapon; (usually in compound) an article in general.
heirloom, workloom
- 2
A frame or machine of wood or other material, in which a weaver forms cloth out of thread; a machine for interweaving yarn or threads into a fabric, as in knitting or lace making.
January 8, 1751, Samuel Johnson, "The Mischiefs of Total Idleness" in The Rambler Hector, when he sees Andromache overwhelmed with terror, sends her for consolation to the loom and the distaff.
- 3
The part of an oar which is between the grip or handle and the blade; the shaft.
- 4
A distorted appearance of something as seen indistinctly or from afar.
- 5
datedloon (bird of order Gaviiformes)
verb
- 1
To appear indistinctly, e.g. when seen on the horizon or through the murk.
The clouds loomed over the mountains.
- 2
To appear in an exaggerated or threatening form; (of a person or thing) to tower; (of an idea) to impressively or intimidatingly occupy the mind; (of an event) to be imminent.
- 3
To rise and to be eminent; to be elevated or ennobled, in a moral sense.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Loom in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Werkzeug, Utensil, Artikel , Webstuhl , Schaft , drohen |
| Spanish | utensilio, herramienta, artículo , telar, tricotosa, tejedora |
| French | métier à tisser , menacer , surplomber |
| Portuguese | tear |
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 loom come from?
From Middle English lome, from Old English *lōma, ġelōma (“tool, utensil, implement, article of furniture, household effect”) (also as andlōma, andġelōma, andlama (“utensil, instrument, implement, tool, vessel”), from Proto-West Germanic *lōmō, *lamō (“tool, utensil”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Dutch alaam, allaam (“tool, household ware or good, appliance”), from Middle Dutch andlame.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).