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PlainSpell

match

/mæt͡ʃ/noun, verb

match is spelled M-A-T-C-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 135 times per million words in written English, the 770th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, match means “Any contest or trial of strength or skill, or to determine superiority” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of match is matches.

How many letters and syllables are in match?

Letters5: M-A-T-C-H
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing135 times per million words; the 770th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone 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 match?

Match appears 135 times per million words in written English, the 770th 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 match?

  • /mæt͡ʃ/

Match 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-uk-match.ogg, En-us-match.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with match

Also written: game, set and match, hatch, match and despatch.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of match

  • matches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • matching participle, present
  • matched participle, past

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

What does match mean?

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

noun

  1. 1

    Any contest or trial of strength or skill, or to determine superiority.

  2. 2

    A competitive sporting event such as a boxing meet, a baseball game, or a cricket match.

    My local team are playing in a match against their arch-rivals today.

  3. 3

    Equality of conditions in contest or competition.

  4. 4

    A pair of items or entities with mutually suitable characteristics.

    The carpet and curtains are a match.

  5. 5

    Someone with a measure of an attribute equaling or exceeding the object of comparison.

    He knew he had met his match.

  6. 6

    Equivalence; a state of correspondence; a counterpart.

  7. 7

    An agreement or compact.

  8. 8

    A marriage.

  9. 9

    A small wooden stick specially treated with chemicals to produce flame upon contact with another chemical, from the frictional heat produced by striking it against a surface, or both; other similar items made from chemically-treated paper, cardboard, etc.

    He struck a match and lit his pipe.

  10. 10

    obsoleteSynonym of taper, a thin stick used to transfer flame, as from tender to a candle.

  11. 11

    obsoleteSynonym of fuse, a long wick used to transfer flame to an explosive device.

verb

  1. 1

    To agree; to be equal; to correspond.

    Their interests didn't match, so it took a long time to agree what to do together.

  2. 2

    To agree with; to be equal to; to correspond to.

    His interests didn't match her interests.

  3. 3

    To equal or exceed in achievement.

    She matched him at every turn: anything he could do, she could do as well or better.

  4. 4

    To make a successful match or pairing.

    They found out about his color-blindness when he couldn't match socks properly.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo unite in marriage, to mate.

  6. 6

    To fit together, or make suitable for fitting together; specifically, to furnish with a tongue and groove at the edges.

    to match boards

  7. 7

    To be an example of a rule or regex.

    The behavior matched one or more rules and was rejected by an edit filter.

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

Match in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchmatch (sporting event), concorder, accorder, correspondre (intransitive: to agree; to be equal), combiner (make a successful pairing), allumette (device to make fire)
GermanSpiel, Wettspiel, Wettkampf, Match, Partie (sporting event), übereinstimmen (intransitive: to agree; to be equal)
Portuguesepartida, combate, luta, jogo (sporting event), combinar (intransitive: to agree; to be equal), páreo (attribute equaling or exceeding)
Spanishpartido (sporting event), pegar (intransitive: to agree; to be equal), igual (attribute equaling or exceeding), pareja, emparejadura (equivalence), emparejamiento (a pair of items or entities with mutually…)

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 match come from?

From Middle English macche, mecche, from Old English mæċċa, ġemæċċa (“companion, mate, wife, one suited to another”), from Proto-West Germanic *makkjō, *gamakkjō (“partner, equal”), from Proto-Germanic *makô, from Proto-Indo-European *mag- (“to knead, work”). Compare Danish mage (“mate”), Icelandic maki (“spouse”).

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

What to look up after match