sconce
/skɑns/noun, verb
sconce is spelled S-C-O-N-C-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 91,522nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sconce means “A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sconce is sconces.
How many letters and syllables are in sconce?
| Letters | 6: S-C-O-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 91,522nd 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 sconce?
Sconce appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 91,522nd 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 sconce?
- UK /skɒns/
- US /skɑns/
Sconce 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-us-sconce.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sconce?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sconce from its last stressed vowel (/ɑns/):
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 sconce
- sconces plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sconcing participle, present
- sconced participle, past
- skonce
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sconce mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb.
- 2
A candlestick (holder for a candle, especially a circular tube, with a brim, into which a candle is inserted), either with a handle for carrying, or with a bracket for attaching to a wall.
- 3
A head or a skull.
- 4
A poll tax; a mulct or fine.
- 5
An act of sconcing (very similar to a fine at Cambridge University, though a sconce is the act of issuing a penalty rather than the penalty itself).
Near-synonym: (Cambridge University slang) fine
- 6
A type of small fort or other fortification, especially as built to defend a pass or ford.
- 7
obsoleteA hut for protection and shelter; a stall.
- 8
A squinch.
- 9
A fragment of a floe of ice.
- 10
A fixed seat or shelf.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo impose a fine, a forfeit, or a mulct.
- 2
During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to announce some (usually outrageous) deed such that anyone who has done it must drink (similar to I have never; commonly associated with crewdates; very similar to fining at Cambridge University).
Near-synonym: (Cambridge University slang) fine
- 3
obsoleteTo shut within a sconce; to imprison.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sconce in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense light fixture on a wall:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | applique murale, applique |
| German | Wandlampe, Wandleuchte, Wandleuchter |
| Portuguese | arandela |
| Spanish | aplique |
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 sconce come from?
From Middle English sconce, sconse (“candlestick or lantern (with screen)”), from Old French esconse (“lantern”), from Latin absconsus (“hidden”), perfect passive participle of abscondō (“hide”). Cognate with abscond.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).