umbo
/ˈʌm.boʊ/noun
umbo is spelled U-M-B-O: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 161,690th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, umbo means “The boss of a shield, at or near the middle and usually projecting, sometimes in a sharp spike” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of umbo is umbones or umbos.
How many letters and syllables are in umbo?
| Letters | 4: U-M-B-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 28 million words; the 161,690th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none 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 umbo?
Umbo appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 161,690th 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 umbo?
- UK /ˈʌm.bəʊ/
- US /ˈʌm.boʊ/
Umbo has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-umbo.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with umbo?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as umbo from its last stressed vowel (/ʌmboʊ/):
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 umbo
- umbones plural
- umbos plural
- umboes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does umbo mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The boss of a shield, at or near the middle and usually projecting, sometimes in a sharp spike.
- 2
An inward projection of the tympanic membrane of the ear.
- 3
One of the lateral prominences just above the hinge of a bivalve shell.
- 4
A bump or protrusion on the cap of a mushroom or toadstool.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does umbo come from?
Borrowed from Latin umbō (“a shield boss”). Doublet of umbone.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).