prefetch
verb, noun
prefetch is spelled P-R-E-F-E-T-C-H: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, prefetch means “To load data or instructions in anticipation of their need” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in prefetch?
| Letters | 8: P-R-E-F-E-T-C-H |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 25 million words; the 150,355th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is prefetch?
Prefetch appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th 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).
Forms of prefetch
- prefetches present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- prefetching participle, present
- prefetched participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prefetch mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To load data or instructions in anticipation of their need
noun
- 1
The operation of loading data or instructions in anticipation of their need.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prefetch in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense (computing) To load data or instructions in anticipation of their need:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | prelectura |
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 prefetch come from?
From pre- + fetch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).