pulsar
/ˈpʌl.sɑːr/noun
pulsar is spelled P-U-L-S-A-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,660th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pulsar means “A rotating neutron star that emits radio pulses periodically” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pulsar is pulsars.
How many letters and syllables are in pulsar?
| Letters | 6: P-U-L-S-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 41,660th 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 pulsar?
Pulsar appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,660th 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 pulsar?
- /ˈpʌl.sɑːr/
Pulsar 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-pulsar.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pulsar
- pulsars plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pulsar mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A rotating neutron star that emits radio pulses periodically.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate pulsar?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of pulsar: PSR.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pulsar in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense rotating neutron star:
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 pulsar come from?
Blend of pulsating + (radio) star, patterned after quasar. Coined by British astronomers Antony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell in 1968, and first used in print in The Daily Telegraph.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).