timbre
/ˈtæmbɹə/noun
timbre is spelled T-I-M-B-R-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “timber vs timbre” about 70 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, timbre means “The quality of a sound independent of its pitch and volume” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of timbre is timbres.
How many letters and syllables are in timbre?
| Letters | 6: T-I-M-B-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,767th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is timbre?
Timbre appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th 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 timbre?
- UK /ˈtæmbɹə/
- UK /ˈtæmbə/
- UK /tɛ̃bɹ(ə)/
Timbre 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-timbre.ogg, En-au-timbre.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with timbre
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with timbre?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as timbre (/æmbɹə/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: timber.
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 timbre
- timbres plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does timbre mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The quality of a sound independent of its pitch and volume.
- 2
The pitch of a sound as heard by the ear, described relative to its absolute pitch.
When someone speaks after inhaling helium, his voice has a higher timbre. With sulfur hexafluoride, the result is a lower timbre.
- 3
The crest on a (helmet atop a) coat of arms.
Quarterly the First quarter Siluer …, The second Siluer a Cheueron gules betweene three Castles Sables And to his timbre vpon his healme, an Elephants head in his proper Colours […]
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Timbre in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense quality of a sound independent of its pitch and volume:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | timbre |
| German | Klangfarbe, Timbre |
| Portuguese | timbre |
| Spanish | timbre |
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 timbre come from?
From French timbre, ultimately from Ancient Greek τύμπανον (túmpanon, “drum”). Doublet of tympanum, timpani, timbal, and tymbal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).