terracotta
/ˌtɛɹ.əˈkɑt.ə/noun, adjective
terracotta is spelled T-E-R-R-A-C-O-T-T-A: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, terracotta means “A hard red-brown unglazed earthenware, used for pottery and building construction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of terracotta is terracottas.
How many letters and syllables are in terracotta?
| Letters | 10: T-E-R-R-A-C-O-T-T-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,748th 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 terracotta?
Terracotta appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th 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 terracotta?
- UK /ˌtɛɹ.əˈkɒt.ə/
- US /ˌtɛɹ.əˈkɑt.ə/
Terracotta has 4 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-terracotta.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with terracotta?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as terracotta from its last stressed vowel (/ɑtə/):
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 terracotta
- terracottas plural
- terra cotta
- terra-cotta
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does terracotta mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A hard red-brown unglazed earthenware, used for pottery and building construction.
- 2
A reddish brown colour, like that of terra cotta.
adjective
- 1
Of the colour of terracotta.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Terracotta in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense hard red-brown earthenware:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | terre cuite |
| German | Terrakotta |
| Portuguese | terracota |
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 terracotta come from?
Borrowed from Italian terra (“earth”) + cotta (“baked”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).