mobile
/ˈmoʊ.bəl/adjective, noun
mobile is spelled M-O-B-I-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 71 times per million words in written English, the 1,486th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, mobile means “Capable of being moved, especially on wheels” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in mobile?
| Letters | 6: M-O-B-I-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 71 times per million words; the 1,486th 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 and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 mobile?
Mobile appears 71 times per million words in written English, the 1,486th 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 mobile?
- UK /ˈməʊ.baɪl/
- US /ˈmoʊ.bəl/
- US /ˈmoʊ.bil/
Mobile 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-uk-mobile.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with mobile
Also written: mobile phone.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with mobile?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as mobile from its last stressed vowel (/oʊbəl/):
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 mobile
- more mobile comparative
- most mobile superlative
- mobiles plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mobile mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Capable of being moved, especially on wheels.
mobile home; mobile library
- 2
Able to move freely or easily.
She's mobile again after her skiing accident.
- 3
Pertaining to or by agency of mobile phones.
mobile number
- 4
Characterized by an extreme degree of fluidity; moving or flowing with great freedom.
Mercury is a mobile liquid.
- 5
Easily moved in feeling, purpose, or direction; excitable; changeable; fickle.
- 6
Changing in appearance and expression under the influence of the mind.
mobile features
- 7
Capable of being moved, aroused, or excited; capable of spontaneous movement.
noun
- 1
A kinetic sculpture or decorative arrangement made of items hanging so that they can move independently from each other.
- 2
IndiaIrelandUKEllipsis of mobile phone.
- 3
The internet accessed via mobile devices; the version of a product seen on mobile devices.
There are many business opportunities in mobile.
- 4
One who moves or can move (e.g. to travel).
- 5
An object capable of moving under its own power.
- 6
datedA creature or NPC that can navigate and interact with the game world (now often shortened to mob).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mobile in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | mobile |
| German | beweglich, mobil , Mobile |
| Portuguese | móvel, movediço , móvel (/ˈmɔ.vew/) |
| Spanish | móvil, movible |
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 mobile come from?
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mōbilis (“easy to be moved, moveable”), from moveō (“move”). The video-gaming sense was coined by Richard Bartle to describe NPCs or creatures capable of moving "under their own power" in the 1978 video game Multi-User Dungeon. Bartle retracted an earlier claim of his that it was from the kinetic sculpture sense of mobile (for the "unpredictable but limited" motion of the hanging ornaments).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).