orb
/ɔɹb/noun, verb
orb is spelled O-R-B: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, orb means “A spherical body; a sphere, especially one of the celestial spheres; a sun, planet, or star” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of orb is orbs.
How many letters and syllables are in orb?
| Letters | 3: O-R-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,629th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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 orb?
Orb appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th 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 orb?
- US /ɔɹb/
- UK /ɔːb/
Orb 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-orb.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with orb?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as orb from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹb/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: bro, rob, bor.
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 orb
- orbs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- orbing participle, present
- orbed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does orb mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A spherical body; a sphere, especially one of the celestial spheres; a sun, planet, or star
- 2
Celestial sphere; one of the azure transparent spheres conceived by the ancients to be enclosed one within another, and to carry the heavenly bodies in their revolutions
- 3
A structural motif or finial in the shape of a sphere
- 4
An orbit of an heavenly body
- 5
rareThe time period of an orbit
- 6
The eye, seen as a luminous and spherical entity
- 7
Any revolving circular body, such as a wheel
- 8
rareA sphere of action.
- 9
A blank window or panel.
verb
- 1
To form into an orb or circle.
- 2
To become round like an orb.
- 3
To encircle; to surround; to enclose.
noun
- 1
Initialism of object request broker.
- 2
Initialism of operations record book (used by RAF).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Orb 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 orb come from?
From Middle English orbe, from Old French orbe, from Latin orbis (“circle, orb”). Compare orbit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).