preach
/pɹit͡ʃ/verb, interjection
preach is spelled P-R-E-A-C-H: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, preach means “To give a sermon” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in preach?
| Letters | 6: P-R-E-A-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.9 times per million words; the 11,373rd 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 preach?
Preach appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd 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 preach?
- UK /pɹiːt͡ʃ/
- US /pɹit͡ʃ/
Preach 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-preach.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with preach?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as preach from its last stressed vowel (/itʃ/):
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 preach
- preaches present, singular, he/she/it
- preaching participle, present
- preached participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does preach mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To give a sermon.
Our pastor can preach very well.
- 2
To proclaim by public discourse; to utter in a sermon or a formal religious harangue.
- 3
To advise or recommend earnestly.
- 4
To teach or instruct by preaching; to inform by preaching.
- 5
To give advice in an offensive or obtrusive manner.
interjection
- 1
slangUsed to express strong agreement (as if encouraging somebody to continue speaking).
– If you can't do the time, don't do the crime! – Preach!
noun
- 1
obsoleteA religious discourse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Preach in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prêcher , proclamer |
| German | predigen , verkündigen |
| Portuguese | pregar |
| Spanish | predicar |
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 preach come from?
From Middle English prechen, from Old French prëechier, precchier (Modern French prêcher), from Latin praedicō (“to proclaim, announce”, literally “to fore-assign, pre-dedicate”). Doublet of predicate. The Latin word is also the source of Old English predician (“to preach”), Saterland Frisian preetje (“to preach”), West Frisian preekje (“to preach”), Dutch preken (“to preach”), German Low German preken (“to preach”), German predigen (“to preach”), Danish prædike (“to preach”), Swedish predika (“to preach”), Icelandic prédika (“to preach”), Norwegian Nynorsk preika (“to preach”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).