ullage
/ˈʌl.ɪd͡ʒ/noun, verb
ullage is spelled U-L-L-A-G-E: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 34 million words in written English, the 178,202nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ullage means “In a wine bottle, the empty space between the cork and the top of the wine” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ullage is ullages.
How many letters and syllables are in ullage?
| Letters | 6: U-L-L-A-G-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 34 million words; the 178,202nd 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 ullage?
Ullage appears about once in every 34 million words in written English, the 178,202nd 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 ullage?
- /ˈʌl.ɪd͡ʒ/
- /ˈʌl.əd͡ʒ/
- /ˈjul.ɪd͡ʒ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ullage.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ullage2.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ullage3.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ullage
- ullages plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ullaging participle, present
- ullaged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ullage mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
In a wine bottle, the empty space between the cork and the top of the wine.
- 2
In a cask or barrel, the empty space, occupied by air, that is created by not completely filling the cask or barrel, or through spillage.
- 3
The topping up of such a barrel with fresh wine.
- 4
In an industrial setting, the empty space in a tank, especially as for fuel.
- 5
Additional cargo of little or no value taken on to prevent movement or shifting of the purposive cargo.
[…]5 hhds. rum/ 5 bbls. flour/ 1 bbl. sugar/ 9 do. pork/ 1 do. suett/ 3 do. cocoa/ 6 do. peas/ 2 ullage bbls. vinegar[…]
- 6
obsoleteslangLeftover wine surreptitiously drunk by waiters as they clear away the glasses.
verb
- 1
To gauge the amount of empty space between the top of a cask and the level of liquid inside it.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does ullage come from?
From Middle English ulage, from Anglo-Norman ulliage, from *ullier (“to fill a partially empty cask”), from Old French oel (“bunghole”, literally “eye”), from Latin oculus (“eye”). See French ouillage.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).