useful
/ˈjuːsfəl/adjective
useful is spelled U-S-E-F-U-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 52 times per million words in written English, the 1,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, useful means “Having a practical or beneficial use” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in useful?
| Letters | 6: U-S-E-F-U-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 52 times per million words; the 1,941st 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 and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 useful?
Useful appears 52 times per million words in written English, the 1,941st 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 useful?
- UK /ˈjuːsfəl/
- UK [ˈjuːsfɫ̩]
- British /ˈjʉwsfəl̩/
Useful 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-us-useful.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with useful?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as useful from its last stressed vowel (/usfəl/, British pronunciation):
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 useful
- more useful comparative
- usefuller comparative
- most useful superlative
- usefullest superlative
- usefull
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does useful mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a practical or beneficial use.
prove useful
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Useful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having a practical or beneficial use:
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 useful come from?
From use + -ful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).