new
/nu/adjective, adverb, noun, verb
new is spelled N-E-W: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1,778 times per million words in written English, the 68th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, new means “Recently made, or created” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in new?
| Letters | 3: N-E-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1,778 times per million words; the 68th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| 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 new?
New appears 1,778 times per million words in written English, the 68th 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 new?
- British /n(j)ʉw/
- UK /njuː/
- US /nu/
New 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-new.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-new.wav, En-us-new.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with new
Sounds like: nu (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with new?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as new from its last stressed vowel (/u/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: wen.
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 new
- newer comparative
- newest superlative
- noo
- nu
- more new comparative
- most new superlative
- news plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- newing participle, present
- newed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does new mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Recently made, or created.
This is a new scratch on my car! The band just released a new album.
- 2
Of recent origin; having taken place recently.
I can't see you for a while; the pain is still too new. Did you see the new King Lear at the theatre?
- 3
Additional; recently discovered.
We turned up some new evidence from the old files.
- 4
Current or later, as opposed to former.
My new car is much better than my previous one, even though it is older. We had been in our new house for five years by then.
- 5
Used to distinguish something established more recently, named after something or some place previously existing.
New Bond Street is an extension of Bond Street.
- 6
In original condition; pristine; not previously worn or used.
Are you going to buy a new car or a second-hand one?
- 7
Refreshed, reinvigorated, reformed.
That shirt is dirty. Go and put on a new one. I feel like a new person after a good night's sleep. After the accident, I saw the world with new eyes.
- 8
Newborn.
My sister has a new baby, and our mother is excited to finally have a grandchild.
adverb
- 1
Synonym of newly, especially in composition.
Near-synonym: recently
- 2
As new; from scratch.
They are scraping the site clean to build new.
noun
- 1
Things that are new.
Out with the old, in with the new.
- 2
AustraliaA typically light-coloured lager brewed by the bottom-fermentation method.
- 3
UKslangA naval cadet who has just embarked on training.
verb
- 1
Synonym of new up.
- 2
obsoleteTo make new; to recreate; to renew.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
New in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense recently made or created:
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 new come from?
From Middle English neowe, neue, new, newe, nywe, from Old English nēowe, nīewe, nīowe, nīwe, from Proto-West Germanic *niwi, from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz (“new”), from Proto-Indo-European *néwos, *néwyos (“new”). Compare also Old English nū (“now”). More at now. Doublet of nuevo, novuss, and neo-.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).