theta
/ˈθeɪtə/noun
theta is spelled T-H-E-T-A: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, theta means “The eighth letter of the Modern Greek alphabet, ninth in Old Greek: Θ, θ” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of theta is thetas.
How many letters and syllables are in theta?
| Letters | 5: T-H-E-T-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,536th 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 theta?
Theta appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th 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 theta?
- UK /ˈθiːtə/
- US /ˈθeɪtə/
- US [ˈθeɪɾə]
Theta 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-theta.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-Theta.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with theta?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as theta from its last stressed vowel (/eɪtə/):
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 theta
- thetas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does theta mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The eighth letter of the Modern Greek alphabet, ninth in Old Greek: Θ, θ.
- 2
The measure of an angle.
- 3
Pitch angle; the angle between an aircraft's longitudinal axis and the horizontal plane.
- 4
The sensitivity of the value of a derivative with respect to time; the "time decay".
- 5
Designating a level of brain activity as measured by electroencephalography having a frequency of between four and seven cycles per second (associated with drowsiness in adults).
- 6
The voiceless dental fricative represented by θ.
noun
- 1
UScolloquialA member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Theta in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Greek letter:
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 theta come from?
Borrowed from Ancient Greek θῆτα (thêta).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).