propulsion
/pɹəˈpʌlʃən/noun
propulsion is spelled P-R-O-P-U-L-S-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, propulsion means “The process of propelling, driving, or pushing, typically forward or onward; a propulsive force or impulse” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of propulsion is propulsions.
How many letters and syllables are in propulsion?
| Letters | 10: P-R-O-P-U-L-S-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.9 times per million words; the 15,798th 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 propulsion?
Propulsion appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th 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 propulsion?
- /pɹəˈpʌlʃən/
Propulsion has 3 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)-Vealhurl-propulsion.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of propulsion
- propulsions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does propulsion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The process of propelling, driving, or pushing, typically forward or onward; a propulsive force or impulse.
- 2
That which propels.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Propulsion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the action of driving or pushing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | propulsion |
| German | Antrieb |
| Portuguese | propulsão |
| Spanish | propulsión |
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 propulsion come from?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin propulsio, propulsionis, from the past participle of Latin propello (“to drive forward, drive forth, drive away, drive out”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).