tall
/tɔːl/adjective, noun
tall is spelled T-A-L-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 33 times per million words in written English, the 2,888th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, tall means “Having great vertical extent (usually reckoned from the bottom of the feet to the very top of the head) when standing. (For instance, somebody with a…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tall?
| Letters | 4: T-A-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 33 times per million words; the 2,888th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tall?
Tall appears 33 times per million words in written English, the 2,888th 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 tall?
- UK /tɔːl/
- UK [tʰoːɫ]
- British /toːl/
Tall 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: En-uk-tall.ogg, En-us-tall.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tall?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tall from its last stressed vowel (/ɔl/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tall
- taller comparative
- tallest superlative
- talls plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tall mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having great vertical extent (usually reckoned from the bottom of the feet to the very top of the head) when standing. (For instance, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be deemed tall.)
Being tall is an advantage in basketball.
- 2
Having its top a long way up; having a great vertical (and often greater than horizontal) extent.
Tall trees, at least about 30m high.
- 3
USSmaller than grande, usually 8 ounces (~ 230 ml).
- 4
Hard to believe, such as a tall story or a tall tale.
- 5
obsoleteObsequious; obedient.
- 6
obsoleteSeemly; suitable; fitting, becoming, comely; attractive, handsome.
- 7
obsoleteBold; brave; courageous; valiant.
- 8
archaicFine; proper; admirable; great; excellent.
noun
- 1
nonstandardSomeone or something that is tall.
- 2
A clothing size for taller people.
Do you have this in a tall?
- 3
A tall serving of a drink, especially one from Starbucks, which contains 12 ounces.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tall in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 tall come from?
From Middle English tall, talle, tal (“seemly, becoming, handsome, good-looking, excellent, good, valiant, lively in speech, bold, great, large, big”), from Old English *tæl, ġetæl (“swift, ready, having mastery of”), from Proto-Germanic *talaz (“submissive, pliable, obedient”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, reckon”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).