tinfoil
noun, verb
tinfoil is spelled T-I-N-F-O-I-L: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,738th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tinfoil means “A thin, pliable sheet of tin or an alloy of tin and lead, used as a protective wrapping” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tinfoil is tinfoils.
How many letters and syllables are in tinfoil?
| Letters | 7: T-I-N-F-O-I-L |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 51,738th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is tinfoil?
Tinfoil appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,738th 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).
Words people confuse with tinfoil
Also written: tin-foil (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of tinfoil
- tinfoils plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- tinfoiling participle, present
- tinfoiled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tinfoil mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A thin, pliable sheet of tin or an alloy of tin and lead, used as a protective wrapping.
- 2
informalAluminium foil.
verb
- 1
To cover in tinfoil.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tinfoil in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tinfoil:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | papier d'étain, papier d’aluminium |
| German | Alufolie |
| Portuguese | papel-alumínio |
| Spanish | papel de estaño, papel aluminio, papel de plata, papel estaño, papel metálico m albal, papel albal |
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 tinfoil come from?
From tin + foil.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).