umber

Name: umber, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈʌmbə/

//ˈʌmbə// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“umber” is uncommon English (frequency #60,534 among 23,789 “U” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,534
frequency rank, English: 23,789
“U” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.

Key facts for umber
Property	Value
Headword	umber
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈʌmbə/
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#60,534
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “umber” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). umber lands here:

#60,534

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

umber is uncommon English at frequency #60,534 among 23,789 “U” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʌmbə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for umber in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French ombre (“umber”), from terre d'ombre (“dark ochre”), from Old French umbre (“shade, shadow”), from Latin umbra. Doublet of umbra. The correct English form is umber, spelled U-M-B-E-R.

Definition

1
A brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.
2
Alternative form of umbrere.
3
A grayling.
4
A dusky brown African wading bird (Scopus umbretta) allied to the shoebill and herons; a hamerkop.

Etymology

From Middle French ombre (“umber”), from terre d'ombre (“dark ochre”), from Old French umbre (“shade, shadow”), from Latin umbra. Doublet of umbra.

This word in other languages

terre d'ombre(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "umber"?

"umber" is spelled U-M-B-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʌmbə/.

What does "umber" mean?

As a noun, "umber" means: A brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.

How do you pronounce "umber"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "umber" is /ˈʌmbə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "umber"?

From Middle French ombre (“umber”), from terre d'ombre (“dark ochre”), from Old French umbre (“shade, shadow”), from Latin umbra. Doublet of umbra. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “umber”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is U-M-B-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈʌmbə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.