respiratory
/ɹɪˈspɪ.ɹət.ə.ɹi/adjective
respiratory is spelled R-E-S-P-I-R-A-T-O-R-Y: 11 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, respiratory means “Relating to respiration or the organs of respiration; breathing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in respiratory?
| Letters | 11: R-E-S-P-I-R-A-T-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.5 times per million words; the 9,463rd 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 respiratory?
Respiratory appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd 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 respiratory?
- UK /ɹɪˈspɪ.ɹət.ə.ɹi/
- UK /ɹɪˈspɪ.ɹə.tɹi/
- UK /ˈɹɛs.pə.ɹət.ə.ɹi/
Respiratory has 5 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-respiratory.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with respiratory?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as respiratory from its last stressed vowel (/ɪɹətəɹi/, British pronunciation):
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).
What does respiratory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Relating to respiration or the organs of respiration; breathing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Respiratory in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense relating to respiration:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | respiratoire |
| German | Atem-, respiratorisch |
| Portuguese | respiratório |
| Spanish | respiratorio |
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 respiratory come from?
Borrowed from New Latin respīrātōrius, equal to respire + -atory.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).