sputum
/ˈspjutəm/noun
sputum is spelled S-P-U-T-U-M: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,894th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sputum means “Matter coughed up and expectorated from the mouth, composed of saliva and discharges from the respiratory passages such as mucus, phlegm or pus” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sputum is sputums or sputa.
How many letters and syllables are in sputum?
| Letters | 6: S-P-U-T-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 62,894th 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 sputum?
Sputum appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,894th 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 sputum?
- /ˈspjutəm/
Sputum 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-sputum.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sputum
- sputums plural
- sputa plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sputum mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Matter coughed up and expectorated from the mouth, composed of saliva and discharges from the respiratory passages such as mucus, phlegm or pus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sputum in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense matter coughed up and expectorated from the mouth:
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 sputum come from?
From New Latin, from Latin sputum (“that which is spit out, spittle”), from spuere (“to spit”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).