pipe
/ˈpaɪp/noun, verb
pipe is spelled P-I-P-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 18 times per million words in written English, the 4,667th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pipe means “A wind instrument consisting of a tube, often lined with holes to allow for adjustment in pitch, sounded by blowing into the tube” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pipe is pipes.
How many letters and syllables are in pipe?
| Letters | 4: P-I-P-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 18 times per million words; the 4,667th 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 pipe?
Pipe appears 18 times per million words in written English, the 4,667th 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 pipe?
- US /ˈpaɪp/
Pipe 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-us-pipe.ogg, En-au-pipe.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pipe?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pipe from its last stressed vowel (/aɪp/):
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 pipe
- pipes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- piping participle, present
- piped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pipe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A wind instrument consisting of a tube, often lined with holes to allow for adjustment in pitch, sounded by blowing into the tube.
- 2
A tube used to produce sound in an organ; an organ pipe.
- 3
The key or sound of the voice.
- 4
A high-pitched sound, especially of a bird.
- 5
A rigid tube that transports water, steam, or other fluid, as used in plumbing and numerous other applications.
- 6
A water pipe.
A burst pipe flooded my bathroom.
- 7
A tubular passageway in the human body such as a blood vessel or the windpipe.
- 8
slangA man's penis.
verb
- 1
To play (music) on a pipe instrument, such as a bagpipe or a flute.
- 2
To shout loudly and at high pitch.
- 3
To emit or have a shrill sound like that of a pipe; to whistle.
- 4
Of a queen bee: to make a high-pitched sound during certain stages of development.
- 5
Of a metal ingot: to become hollow in the process of solidifying.
- 6
To convey or transport (something) by means of pipes.
- 7
To install or configure with pipes.
- 8
To dab moisture away from.
noun
- 1
Acronym of private investment in public equity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pipe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cornemuse , conduit, tuyau , barre verticale, tube, pipe |
| German | Flöte , Rohr , senkrechter Strich , Orgelpfeife |
| Portuguese | flauta , cano, duto , tubo , pipe |
| Spanish | caramillo, flauta f) , tubería, tubo, caño , tubo de órgano |
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 pipe come from?
From Middle English pīpe, pype (“hollow cylinder or tube used as a conduit or container; duct or vessel of the body; musical instrument; financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, pipe roll”), from Old English pīpe (“pipe (musical instrument); the channel of a small stream”), from Proto-West Germanic *pīpā. Reinforced by Vulgar Latin *pīpa, from Latin pipire, pipiare, pipare, from pīpiō (“to chirp, peep”), of imitative origin. Displaced native Old English fealh and Old English þrūh. Doublet of fife.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).