nimbus
nimb·us/ˈnɪmbəs/noun
nimbus is spelled N-I-M-B-U-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables (nimb·us). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nimbus means “A circle of light; a halo” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nimbus is nimbi or nimbuses.
How many letters and syllables are in nimbus?
| Letters | 6: N-I-M-B-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: nimb·us |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,947th 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; 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 nimbus?
Nimbus appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th 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 nimbus?
- US /ˈnɪmbəs/
Nimbus has 2 syllables, split nimb·us in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-nimbus.ogg, En-au-nimbus.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with nimbus?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as nimbus from its last stressed vowel (/ɪmbəs/):
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 nimbus
- nimbi plural
- nimbuses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nimbus mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A circle of light; a halo.
- 2
A grey rain cloud.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nimbus 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 nimbus come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin nimbus (“dark cloud”). Doublet of nimb. Sense 2 (“grey rain cloud”) was coined by the British chemist and amateur meteorologist Luke Howard (1772–1864): see the 1803 quotation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).