throe
/θɹoʊ/noun
throe is spelled T-H-R-O-E: 5 letters. It appears about once in every 58 million words in written English, the 237,177th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, throe means “A severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of throe is throes.
How many letters and syllables are in throe?
| Letters | 5: T-H-R-O-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 58 million words; the 237,177th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 throe?
Throe appears about once in every 58 million words in written English, the 237,177th 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 throe?
- UK /θɹəʊ/
- US /θɹoʊ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-throe.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with throe
Sounds like: throw (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with throe?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as throe from its last stressed vowel (/oʊ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: other.
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 throe
- throes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- throw
- throeing participle, present
- throed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does throe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die.
- 2
The pain of labour or childbirth; the suffering of death.
- 3
Any severe pang or spasm, especially an outburst of feeling; a paroxysm.
- 4
A hard struggle, especially one associated with the beginning or finishing of a task.
- 5
obsoleteSynonym of froe (“a cleaving tool for splitting cask staves and shingles from a block of wood”).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo cause (someone) to feel throes, as if in childbirth; to put in agony.
- 2
obsoleteTo feel throes; to struggle in extreme pain; to be in agony; to agonize.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Throe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contrac:
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.