pipeline
/ˈpaɪpˌlaɪn/noun, verb
pipeline is spelled P-I-P-E-L-I-N-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pipeline means “A conduit made of pipes used to convey water, gas or petroleum, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pipeline is pipelines.
How many letters and syllables are in pipeline?
| Letters | 8: P-I-P-E-L-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,674th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is pipeline?
Pipeline appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th 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 pipeline?
- /ˈpaɪpˌlaɪn/
Pipeline 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-pipeline.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pipeline
Also written: pipe line (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of pipeline
- pipelines plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pipelining participle, present
- pipelined participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pipeline mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A conduit made of pipes used to convey water, gas or petroleum, etc.
Meronyms: pipe, piping, pipework
- 2
A channel (either physical or logical) by which information is transmitted sequentially (that is, the first information in is the first information out).
3D images are rendered using the graphics pipeline.
- 3
A system or process through which something is conducted.
A new version of the software is in the pipeline, but has not been rolled out.
- 4
A widely observed pattern of development in personal interests, circumstances, or opinions.
Many who grew up in foster homes in the county have fallen victim to the foster-care-to-homelessness pipeline.
- 5
A continuous, contributing source of benefits, talent, or innovation.
- 6
The inside of a wave that a surfer is riding, when the wave has started closing over it.
verb
- 1
To design (a microchip etc.) so that processing takes place in efficient stages, the output of each stage being fed as input to the next.
- 2
To convey by a system of pipes.
- 3
To lay a system of pipes through.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pipeline in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pipeline |
| German | Pipeline, Rohrleitung |
| Portuguese | ducto, duto , pipeline , tubo |
| Spanish | oleoducto, tubería, hidroducto |
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 pipeline come from?
From pipe + line.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).