sunset
/ˈsʌnˌsɛt/noun, verb
sunset is spelled S-U-N-S-E-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sunset means “The moment each evening when the sun disappears below the western horizon” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sunset is sunsets.
How many letters and syllables are in sunset?
| Letters | 6: S-U-N-S-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,674th 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 sunset?
Sunset appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th 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 sunset?
- /ˈsʌnˌsɛt/
Sunset 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-sunset.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sunset
- sunsets plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sunsetting participle, present
- sunsetted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sunset mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The moment each evening when the sun disappears below the western horizon.
at sunset
- 2
The changes in color of the sky before and after sunset.
- 3
The final period of the life of a person or thing.
one's sunset years
- 4
A set termination date.
The tax increase legislation included a sunset clause requiring renewal to prevent the tax increase from expiring.
- 5
The region where the sun sets; the west.
verb
- 1
To phase out.
We’ll be sunsetting version 1.9 of the software shortly after releasing version 2.0 next quarter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sunset in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | coucher de soleil , crépuscule |
| German | Sonnenuntergang , Abendrot , Lebensabend |
| Portuguese | crepúsculo, pôr-do-sol, pôr do sol, poente, ocaso, sol-pôr |
| Spanish | puesta del sol, puesta de sol, puesta solar, ocaso |
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 sunset come from?
From Middle English son-sett, Sonne set, equivalent to sun + set. In Gower's Confessio Amantis, before 1393.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).