nadir
/ˈneɪˌdɪə(ɹ)/noun, verb
nadir is spelled N-A-D-I-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Nadir, the name). As a noun, nadir means “The point of the celestial sphere, directly opposite the zenith; inferior pole of the horizon; point of the celestial sphere directly under the place…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nadir is nadirs.
How many letters and syllables are in nadir?
| Letters | 5: N-A-D-I-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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 nadir?
Nadir appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Nadir, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nadir?
- UK /ˈneɪˌdɪə(ɹ)/
- UK /ˈnæd.ɪə(ɹ)/
- UK /ˈneɪ.də(ɹ)/
Nadir 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-nadir.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with nadir?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as nadir (/eɪdɪə/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: drain, dinar.
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 nadir
- nadirs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- nadiring participle, present
- nadired participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nadir mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The point of the celestial sphere, directly opposite the zenith; inferior pole of the horizon; point of the celestial sphere directly under the place of observation.
- 2
The lowest point; time of greatest depression.
Near-synonym: dead
- 3
The axis of a projected conical shadow; the direction of the force of gravity at a location; down.
The nadir of the sun is the axis of the shadow projected by the Earth.
- 4
archaicAn empty box added beneath a full one in a beehive to give the colony more room to expand or store honey.
verb
- 1
To extend (a beehive) by adding an empty box at the base.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nadir in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 nadir come from?
From Medieval Latin nadir, from Arabic نَظِير السَّمْت (naẓīr as-samt), composed of نَظِير (naẓīr, “counterpart, corresponding to”) and السَّمْت (as-samt, “the zenith”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).