rich
/ˈɹɪt͡ʃ/adjective, noun
rich is spelled R-I-C-H: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 81 times per million words in written English, the 1,302nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Rich, the name). As an adjective, rich means “Wealthy: having a lot of money and possessions” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rich?
| Letters | 4: R-I-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 81 times per million words; the 1,302nd 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 rich?
Rich appears 81 times per million words in written English, the 1,302nd most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Rich, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rich?
- /ˈɹɪt͡ʃ/
- [ˈɹʷɪt͡ʃ]
Rich has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rich.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of rich
- richer comparative
- more rich comparative
- richest superlative
- most rich superlative
- riches present, singular, he/she/it
- riching participle, present
- riched participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rich mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Wealthy: having a lot of money and possessions.
- 2
Having an intense fatty or sugary flavour.
a rich dish; rich cream or soup; rich pastry; a very rich chocolate cake
- 3
Remunerative.
- 4
Plentiful, abounding, abundant, fulfilling.
a rich treasury; a rich entertainment; a rich crop
- 5
Yielding large returns; productive or fertile; fruitful.
rich soil or land; a rich mine
- 6
Composed of valuable or costly materials or ingredients; procured at great outlay; highly valued; precious; sumptuous; costly.
a rich endowment; a rich dress; rich silk or fur; rich presents
- 7
Not faint or delicate; vivid.
a rich red colour
- 8
informalVery amusing.
The scene was a rich one.
noun
- 1
The rich people of a society or the world collectively, the rich class of a society.
Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born
- 2
the second placer in Tycoon
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo enrich.
- 2
obsoleteTo become rich.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rich in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 rich come from?
From Middle English riche (“strong, powerful, rich”), from Old English rīċe (“powerful, mighty, great, high-ranking, rich, wealthy, strong, potent”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīkī (“powerful, rich”), from Proto-Germanic *rīkijaz (“kingly, powerful, rich”), from Proto-Germanic *rīks (“king, ruler”), an early borrowing from Proto-Celtic *rīxs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs. Reinforced by Old French riche, from the same West Germanic source.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).