Skip to main content
PlainSpell

note

/noʊ̯t/noun, verb

note is spelled N-O-T-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 110 times per million words in written English, the 972nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, note means “A mark or token by which a thing may be known; a visible sign; a character; a distinctive mark or feature; a characteristic quality” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of note is notes.

How many letters and syllables are in note?

Letters4: N-O-T-E
Syllables1
In writing110 times per million words; the 972nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

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 note?

Note appears 110 times per million words in written English, the 972nd 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 note?

  • UK /nəʊ̯t/
  • US /noʊ̯t/
  • Australia /nəʉ̯t/

Note has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-note.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with note?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as note from its last stressed vowel (/oʊt/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: tone.

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 note

  • notes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • noting participle, present
  • noted participle, past
  • noit
  • noyt
  • not

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

What does note mean?

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

noun

  1. 1

    A mark or token by which a thing may be known; a visible sign; a character; a distinctive mark or feature; a characteristic quality.

  2. 2

    A mark, or sign, made to call attention, to point out something to notice, or the like; a sign, or token, proving or giving evidence.

  3. 3

    A brief remark; a marginal comment or explanation; hence, an annotation on a text or author; a comment; a critical, explanatory, or illustrative observation.

  4. 4

    A brief piece of writing intended to assist the memory; a memorandum; a minute.

    I left him a note to remind him to take out the trash.

  5. 5

    A short informal letter; a billet.

  6. 6

    An academic treatise (often without regard to length); a treatment; a discussion paper; (loosely) any contribution to an academic discourse.

  7. 7

    A diplomatic missive or written communication.

  8. 8

    A written or printed paper (or digital equivalent) acknowledging a debt, and promising payment.

    Near-synonyms: draft, bond, paper, commercial paper, IOU, letter of credit

  9. 9

    IrelandScotlandUKThat which is needed or necessary; business; duty; work.

    Tha'll keep me at this noit all day... Om always at this noit.

  10. 10

    IrelandScotlandUKMilk-giving by a cow or sow; (specifically) the period following calving or farrowing, during which a cow or sow is most productive and useful.

  11. 11

    IrelandScotlandUKThe milk given by a cow or sow during such period.

verb

  1. 1

    To notice with care; to observe; to remark; to heed.

    If you look to the left, you can note the old cathedral.

  2. 2

    To record in writing; to make a memorandum of.

    We noted his speech.

  3. 3

    To denote; to designate.

    The modular multiplicative inverse of x may be noted x⁻¹.

  4. 4

    To annotate.

  5. 5

    To set down in musical characters.

  6. 6

    To record on the back of (a bill, draft, etc.) a refusal of acceptance, as the ground of a protest, which is done officially by a notary.

    By noting the protest, notaries could date certificates when they were received, making it easier to comply with time restrictions associated with protesting.

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

How do you abbreviate note?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of note: n..

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

Note in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Spanishnota, anotación, membrete (mark, or sign, made to call attention), notar, tener en cuenta (to notice with care), anotar (to record in writing)
Frenchnoter, remarquer (to notice with care), prendre note (to record in writing), note (marginal comment or explanation)
Germanbemerken (to notice with care), Notiz (marginal comment or explanation), Zettel (memorandum), Note (diplomatic missive or written communication)
Portuguesenotar, perceber (to notice with care), anotar (to record in writing), nota (marginal comment or explanation), bilhete, aviso (short informal letter)

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 note come from?

From Middle English note, from Old English not, nōt (“note, mark, sign”) and Old French note (“letter, note”), both from Latin nota (“mark, sign, remark, note”).

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

What to look up after note