sprain
/spɹeɪn/verb, noun
sprain is spelled S-P-R-A-I-N: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, sprain means “To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sprain?
| Letters | 6: S-P-R-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,912th 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 sprain?
Sprain appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th 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 sprain?
- /spɹeɪn/
Sprain 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sprain.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sprain
- sprains present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- spraining participle, present
- sprained participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sprain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation
He sprained his knee after falling off the bicycle.
noun
- 1
The act or result of spraining; lameness caused by spraining
a bad sprain of the wrist
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sprain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | se fouler , entorse |
| German | verstauchen , Verstauchung |
| Portuguese | torcer , torcedura, torção |
| Spanish | torcer, esguinzar, hacerse un esguince, distender, distensión , torcedura |
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 sprain come from?
Origin unknown. Noun attested since 1601; verb attested 1622. Possibly borrowed from Middle French espraindre (“to squeeze or press out”), from Latin exprimere (“to squeeze out, express”), in which case cognate to express.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).