rumour
/ˈɹumɚ/noun, verb
rumour is spelled R-U-M-O-U-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rumour means “UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland spelling of rumor” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rumour is rumours.
How many letters and syllables are in rumour?
| Letters | 6: R-U-M-O-U-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.4 times per million words; the 17,587th 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 rumour?
Rumour appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th 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 rumour?
- UK /ˈɹuːmə/
- British /ˈɹʉwmə/
- US /ˈɹumɚ/
Rumour 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)-Vealhurl-rumor.wav, En-au-rumour.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rumour?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rumour from its last stressed vowel (/uməɹ/):
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 rumour
- rumours plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- rumouring participle, present
- rumoured participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rumour mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland spelling of rumor.
- 2
obsoleteA prolonged, indistinct noise.
verb
- 1
Commonwealth standard spelling of rumor.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does rumour come from?
From Middle English rumour, from Old French rumour, rumor, from Latin rūmor (“common talk”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *rewH- (“to shout, roar”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).