permit
/pɚˈmɪt/verb, noun
permit is spelled P-E-R-M-I-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, permit means “To allow (something) to happen, to give permission for” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in permit?
| Letters | 6: P-E-R-M-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,934th 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 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 permit?
Permit appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th 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 permit?
- US /pɚˈmɪt/
- UK /pəˈmɪt/
As a noun (“An artifact or document rendering something allowed or legal”): /pɚˈmɪt/, /pəˈmɪt/, /ˈpɝmɪt/.
As a noun (“A pompano of the species Trachinotus falcatus”): /ˈpɝmɪt/, /ˈpɜːmɪt/.
Permit 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-permit-verb.ogg, En-us-permit-noun.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with permit?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as permit from its last stressed vowel (/ɪt/):
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 permit
- permits present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- permitting participle, present
- permitted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does permit mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To allow (something) to happen, to give permission for.
- 2
To allow (someone) to do something; to give permission to.
- 3
To allow for, to make something possible.
- 4
To allow, to admit (of).
- 5
To grant formal authorization for (something).
The Building Department permitted that project last week.
- 6
To attempt to obtain or succeed in obtaining formal authorization for (something).
We've been busy permitting the State Street development.
- 7
archaicrareTo hand over, resign (something to someone).
noun
- 1
An artifact or document rendering something allowed or legal.
A construction permit can be obtained from the town offices.
- 2
A learner's permit.
- 3
obsoleteFormal permission.
- 4
A pompano of the species Trachinotus falcatus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Permit in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | permettre , permis, permission |
| German | erlauben, genehmigen, zulassen , Genehmigung, Erlaubnis |
| Portuguese | permitir, deixar , permissão, autorização, licença, aval |
| Spanish | permitir , permiso , permitirle , permitirse |
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 permit come from?
From Middle English permitten, borrowed from Middle French permettre, from Latin permittō (“give up, allow”), from per (“through”) + mittō (“send”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).