spelunking
noun, verb
spelunking is spelled S-P-E-L-U-N-K-I-N-G: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 95,993rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, spelunking means “The practice or hobby of exploring underground caverns” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of spelunking is spelunkings.
How many letters and syllables are in spelunking?
| Letters | 10: S-P-E-L-U-N-K-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 95,993rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is spelunking?
Spelunking appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 95,993rd 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 spelunking?
Spelunking has 3 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).
Forms of spelunking
- spelunkings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spelunking mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The practice or hobby of exploring underground caverns.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of spelunk
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spelunking in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense exploring underground caverns:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | spéléologie |
| German | Höhlenwandern |
| Spanish | espeleísmo, espeleoturismo |
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 spelunking come from?
From spelunk + -ing. Back-formation from spelunker. Attested since 1946.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).