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supplement

/ˈsʌp.lə.mənt/noun, verb

supplement is spelled S-U-P-P-L-E-M-E-N-T. The wrong spelling people search most is suppliment: about 290 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 14 of all searches for the word. Supplement is a noun meaning “Something added; especially, such an addition added to make up for a deficiency”. The plural of supplement is supplements.

How many letters and syllables are in supplement?

Letters10: S-U-P-P-L-E-M-E-N-T
Syllables3 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing11 times per million words; the 6,784th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searched1; the most searched, suppliment, about 290 Bing searches a month (all of them)

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).

How do you spell supplement?

Supplement is spelled S-U-P-P-L-E-M-E-N-T. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 14 of the searches for supplement in either form.

supplementthe right spelling3,870 searches a month
supplimenti in place of e290 searches a month

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). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.

How common is supplement?

Supplement appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th 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 supplement?

  • UK /ˈsʌp.lɪ.mənt/
  • US /ˈsʌp.lə.mənt/
  • Australia /ˈsɐp.lə.mənt/

Supplement 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). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Berrely-supplement.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-supplement.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of supplement

  • supplements plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • supplementing participle, present
  • supplemented participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does supplement mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Something added; especially, such an addition added to make up for a deficiency.

    Near-synonyms: see Thesaurus:adjunct

  2. 2

    An extension to a document or publication that adds information, corrects errors, or brings up to date.

  3. 3

    An additional section of a newspaper devoted to a specific subject; an additional section of a journal issue, or an additional issue, for a similar purpose.

    the literary supplement

  4. 4

    An angle that, when added to a given angle, makes 180°; a supplementary angle.

  5. 5

    A vitamin, herbal extract, or chemical compound ingested to meet dietary deficiencies or enhance muscular development; the dosage form that conveys or embodies it (e.g., tablet, capsule, pill, powder, beverage).

    Vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids must come from either the diet or supplements.

  6. 6

    A surcharge, additional cost, especially for food in a restaurant.

    There is a £2 supplement if you choose the steak.

  7. 7

    An adjunct that is nonessential, especially a supplementary relative clause.

verb

  1. 1

    To provide or make a supplement to something.

    I supplement my income by working as a model.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate supplement?

Wiktionary records 6 abbreviations of supplement: Supp., Suppl, Suppl., supp., suppl, suppl..

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Supplement in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanErgänzung (something added), Nachtrag, (appendix) Anhang, Supplement, Supplementband (extension to a document or publication), Beilage (additional section of a newspaper)
Portuguesesuplemento, adendo (something added), suplementar (to provide or make a supplement to)
Spanishsuplemento (something added), complementar, suplementar (to provide or make a supplement to), suplementario (supplementary angle in geometry)
Frenchsupplément (additional section of a newspaper)

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 supplement come from?

From Latin supplementum (“that which is added to supply a shortage”), from supplere (“to provide something”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after supplement