red
/ɹɛd/noun, adjective, interjection, verb
red is spelled R-E-D: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 209 times per million words in written English, the 483rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “read vs red” about 260 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, red means “The colour of the setting sun, blood, and strawberries; the colour which is evoked by the longest visible wavelengths (between about 625–740 nm), and…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of red is reds.
How many letters and syllables are in red?
| Letters | 3: R-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 209 times per million words; the 483rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); 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 red?
Red appears 209 times per million words in written English, the 483rd 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 red?
- US /ɹɛd/
- US [ɻʷɛˑd̥]
- Australia /ɹed/
Red 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: En-uk-red.ogg, En-us-red.ogg, En-Red.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with red
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: redd (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: redd.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with red?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as red from its last stressed vowel (/ɛd/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: der, erd.
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 red
- reds plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- redder comparative
- reddest superlative
- redding participle, present
- redded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does red mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The colour of the setting sun, blood, and strawberries; the colour which is evoked by the longest visible wavelengths (between about 625–740 nm), and a primary additive colour.
Red can be seen as hot or angry.
- 2
A revolutionary socialist or (most commonly) a Communist; (usually capitalized) a Bolshevik, a supporter of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War.
- 3
One of the 15 red balls used in snooker, distinguished from the colours.
- 4
Red wine.
- 5
Any of several varieties of ale which are brewed with red or kilned malt, giving the beer a red colour.
- 6
informalA red variety of an animal, such as a red kangaroo or a red squirrel.
- 7
UKinformalA redshank.
- 8
derogatoryoffensiveAn American Indian.
adjective
- 1
Of a red hue.
The girl wore a red skirt.
- 2
Having an orange-brown or orange-blond colour; ginger.
Her hair had red highlights.
- 3
Having a redder hue than usual due to embarrassment, anger, sunburn, etc.; flushed.
- 4
Having a brown color.
- 5
Of the hearts or diamonds suits. Compare black (“of the spades or clubs suits”)
I got two red queens, and he got one of the black queens.
- 6
Left-wing parties and movements, chiefly socialist or communist, including the U.K. Labour party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
"Only Nixon could go to China" was the refrain of conventional wisdom during Richard Nixon’s 1972 official visit to Mao Tse-tung’s regime. Nixon’s anti-communist credentials, however dubious, provided useful camouflage as he opened diplomat
- 7
USThe U.S. Republican Party.
a red state
- 8
derogatoryoffensiveAmerind; relating to Amerindians or First Nations.
interjection
- 1
Used to indicate that the speaker wishes current sexual activity to stop immediately.
noun
- 1
A Communist.
- 2
A supporter of a sports team who wears red as part of their kit.
- 3
The player moving the red pieces.
adjective
- 1
Communist.
the Red Army
- 2
Related to socialist or leftist politics.
- 3
datedoffensiveNative American.
the Red race
noun
- 1
Acronym of reverse electrodialysis.
adjective
- 1
red (hair color).
verb
- 1
Alternative spelling of redd.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Red in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rouge , roux |
| German | Rot , rothaarig , Rote, Roter , rot |
| Portuguese | vermelho, rubro, vermelha, rubra, encarnado, escarlate |
| Spanish | rojo , colorado, rubicundo, rubro, rufo , tinto |
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 red come from?
Inherited from Middle English red, from Old English rēad, from Proto-West Germanic *raud, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós, from *h₁rewdʰ- + *-ós.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).