tourniquet
/ˈtɝ.nɪ.kɪt/noun, verb
tourniquet is spelled T-O-U-R-N-I-Q-U-E-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tourniquet means “A tightly-compressed bandage used to stop bleeding by stopping the flow of blood through a large artery in a limb” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tourniquet is tourniquets.
How many letters and syllables are in tourniquet?
| Letters | 10: T-O-U-R-N-I-Q-U-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 50,539th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is tourniquet?
Tourniquet appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th 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 tourniquet?
- UK /ˈtʊə.nɪ.keɪ/
- UK /ˈtɔː.nɪ.keɪ/
- US /ˈtɝ.nɪ.kɪt/
Tourniquet has 3 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-tourniquet.ogg, En-au-tourniquet.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tourniquet
- tourniquets plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- tourniqueting participle, present
- tourniquetting participle, present, rare
- tourniqueted participle, past
- tourniquetted participle, past, rare
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tourniquet mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tightly-compressed bandage used to stop bleeding by stopping the flow of blood through a large artery in a limb.
- 2
Any of several similar methods of clamping components into position.
- 3
obsoleteA turnstile.
verb
- 1
To apply a tourniquet bandage.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tourniquet in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a tightly compressed bandage used to stop bleeding:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | garrot, tourniquet |
| German | Tourniquet, Aderpresse, Stauschlauch |
| Portuguese | torniquete |
| Spanish | torniquete, garrote |
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 tourniquet come from?
From French tourniquet, from tourner (“to turn”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).