portable
por·ta·ble/ˈpɔɹtəbəl/adjective, noun
portable is spelled P-O-R-T-A-B-L-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables (por·ta·ble). It appears 9.3 times per million words in written English, the 7,445th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, portable means “Able to be carried or easily moved” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in portable?
| Letters | 8: P-O-R-T-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: por·ta·ble |
| In writing | 9.3 times per million words; the 7,445th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is portable?
Portable appears 9.3 times per million words in written English, the 7,445th 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 portable?
- UK /ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbəl/
- UK /ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbl̩/
- US /ˈpɔɹtəbəl/
Portable has 3 syllables, split por·ta·ble in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-portable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with portable
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with portable?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as portable from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹtəbəl/):
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 portable
- more portable comparative
- most portable superlative
- portables plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does portable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Able to be carried or easily moved.
- 2
Able to be transferred from one organization to another.
a portable pension plan
- 3
Of software: able to be run on multiple hardware or operating systems.
- 4
Of a program: able to be copied directly from one machine to another without the use of an installer.
- 5
obsoleteBearable, endurable.
noun
- 1
Clipping of portable toilet.
- 2
A trailer or other movable structure used for classes at a school.
- 3
Clipping of portable computer.
- 4
A hand-held video gaming device.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate portable?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of portable: ptbl.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Portable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense able to be carried or moved:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | portable, portatif |
| German | portabel, tragbar |
| Portuguese | portátil, portável |
| Spanish | portátil, portable |
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 portable come from?
From Middle English portable, from Middle French portable and Latin portābilis. By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -able.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).