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PlainSpell

truncate

trun·cateUK /tɹʌŋˈkeɪt/verb, adjective

truncate is spelled T-R-U-N-C-A-T-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables (trun·cate). It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 71,529th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, truncate means “To shorten (something) by, or as if by, cutting part of it off” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in truncate?

Letters8: T-R-U-N-C-A-T-E
Syllables2: trun·cate
In writingabout once in every 6 million words; the 71,529th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

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 truncate?

Truncate appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 71,529th 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 truncate?

  • UK /tɹʌŋˈkeɪt/
  • UK [tɹ̝̊ʷʌŋˈkʰeɪ̯t]
  • UK [t̠ɹ̠̊˔ʷʌŋˈkʰeɪ̯t]

Truncate has 2 syllables, split trun·cate in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-truncate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with truncate?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as truncate from its last stressed vowel (/eɪt/, British pronunciation):

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 truncate

  • truncates present, singular, he/she/it
  • truncating participle, present
  • truncated participle, past
  • more truncate comparative
  • most truncate superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does truncate mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To shorten (something) by, or as if by, cutting part of it off.

    The script was truncated to leave time for commercials.

  2. 2

    To shorten (a decimal number) by removing trailing (or leading) digits.

  3. 3

    To replace a corner by a plane (or to make a similar change to a crystal).

adjective

  1. 1

    Truncated.

  2. 2

    Having an abrupt termination.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Truncate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchtronquer (shorten something as if by cutting off part of…), tronqué (truncated)
Germankürzen, abschneiden (shorten something as if by cutting off part of…)
Portuguesetruncar (shorten something as if by cutting off part of…), truncado (truncated), arredondar (shorten a decimal number by removing trailing…)
Spanishtruncar (shorten something as if by cutting off part of…), truncado (truncated)

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 truncate come from?

From Latin truncātus, perfect passive participle of truncō (“maim, reduce to a trunk”); see trunk as a verb.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after truncate