tumor
/tuː.məɹ/noun
tumor is spelled T-U-M-O-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 9.3 times per million words in written English, the 7,445th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tumor means “An abnormal growth; differential diagnosis includes abscess, metaplasia, and neoplasia” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tumor is tumors.
How many letters and syllables are in tumor?
| Letters | 5: T-U-M-O-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.3 times per million words; the 7,445th 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 tumor?
Tumor appears 9.3 times per million words in written English, the 7,445th 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 tumor?
- UK /tjuː.mə/
- US /tuː.məɹ/
- UK /tɪʊ̯.məɾ/
Tumor 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-uk-tumor.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tumor
- tumors plural
- tumour
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tumor mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USAn abnormal growth; differential diagnosis includes abscess, metaplasia, and neoplasia.
a benign tumor
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tumor in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense oncology, pathology: an abnormal growth:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tumeur |
| German | Tumor, Geschwulst |
| Portuguese | tumor |
| Spanish | tumor |
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 tumor come from?
From Middle English tumour, from Old French tumour, from Latin tumor (“swelling”), from tumeō (“bulge, swell”, verb), from Proto-Italic *tumēō, from Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- (“to swell”). Related to English thumb.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).