sensor
/ˈsɛn.sɚ/noun
sensor is spelled S-E-N-S-O-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.3 times per million words in written English, the 8,036th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “censor vs sensor” about 880 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, sensor means “A device or organ that detects certain external stimuli and responds in a distinctive manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sensor is sensors.
How many letters and syllables are in sensor?
| Letters | 6: S-E-N-S-O-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.3 times per million words; the 8,036th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| 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); 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 sensor?
Sensor appears 8.3 times per million words in written English, the 8,036th 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 sensor?
- UK /ˈsɛn.sə/
- US /ˈsɛn.sɚ/
Sensor 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: En-us-censor.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with sensor
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: censer, censor, senser (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with sensor?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sensor from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnsəɹ/):
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 sensor
- sensors plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sensor mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A device or organ that detects certain external stimuli and responds in a distinctive manner.
The smoke sensor triggered the alarm.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sensor in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense device or organ that detects certain external stimuli:
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 sensor come from?
Originated 1925–30, formed as a Latin loanword from sentiō (“to feel”) + -tor (“-er”). By surface analysis, sense + -or.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).