umpire
um·pire/ˈʌm.paɪɹ/noun, verb
umpire is spelled U-M-P-I-R-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (um·pire). It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, umpire means “An official who presides over a sports match” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of umpire is umpires.
How many letters and syllables are in umpire?
| Letters | 6: U-M-P-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: um·pire |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 17,813th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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 umpire?
Umpire appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th 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 umpire?
- UK /ˈʌm.paɪə(ɹ)/
- US /ˈʌm.paɪɹ/
- Australia /ˈɐm.pɑeə(ɹ)/
Umpire has 2 syllables, split um·pire in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-umpire.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with umpire?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as umpire (/ʌmpaɪɹ/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: impure.
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 umpire
- umpires plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- umpiring participle, present
- umpired participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does umpire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An official who presides over a sports match.
- 2
The official who presides over a tennis match sat on a high chair.
- 3
One of the two white-coated officials who preside over a cricket match.
- 4
One of the officials who preside over a baseball game.
The umpire called the pitch a strike.
- 5
The official who stands behind the line on the defensive side or next to the referee on the offensive side.
The umpire must keep on his toes as the play often occurs around him.
- 6
A match official on the ground deciding and enforcing the rules during play. There may be up to four umpires depending on the league. The other officials, the goal umpires and boundary umpires, are usually referred to by those phrases.
- 7
The official who presides over a curling game.
- 8
A person who arbitrates between contending parties.
verb
- 1
To act as an umpire in a game.
- 2
To decide as an umpire.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Umpire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | arbitre , arbitrer |
| German | Schiedsrichter, Schiri, Unparteiischer , schiedsrichtern , Schlichter, Obmann |
| Portuguese | árbitro , arbitrar |
| Spanish | árbitro, ampáyer, ompáyer, umpire, ampaya , arbitrar |
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 umpire come from?
From a Middle English rebracketing of a noumper as an oumper, from Old French nonper (“odd number, not even (as a tie-breaking arbitrator)”), from non (“not”) + per (“equal”), from Latin par (“equal”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).