velocity
/vəˈlɑsəti/noun
velocity is spelled V-E-L-O-C-I-T-Y: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 8.3 times per million words in written English, the 8,036th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, velocity means “A vector quantity that denotes the rate of change of position with respect to time, combining speed with a directional component” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of velocity is velocities.
How many letters and syllables are in velocity?
| Letters | 8: V-E-L-O-C-I-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.3 times per million words; the 8,036th 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 velocity?
Velocity appears 8.3 times per million words in written English, the 8,036th 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 velocity?
- UK /vəˈlɒsəti/
- US /vəˈlɑsəti/
Velocity has 4 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-velocity.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with velocity?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as velocity from its last stressed vowel (/ɑsəti/):
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 velocity
- velocities plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does velocity mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A vector quantity that denotes the rate of change of position with respect to time, combining speed with a directional component.
A car racing in a circle may retain the same speed while continually changing its velocity.
- 2
A rapidity of motion.
The train was travelling at a slower velocity than usual.
- 3
The rate of occurrence.
- 4
The number of times that an average unit of currency is spent during a specific period of time.
- 5
The value corresponding to how hard a key is struck on a MIDI controller or keyboard.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate velocity?
Wiktionary records 4 abbreviations of velocity: PVT, V, VNE, vel..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Velocity in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vecteur vitesse, vélocité , vitesse , fréquence |
| German | Geschwindigkeit , Frequenz, Häufigkeit , Umlaufgeschwindigkeit |
| Portuguese | velocidade |
| Spanish | velocidad |
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 velocity come from?
From Middle French vélocité, from Latin vēlōcitās (“speed”), from vēlōx (“fast”), thus a doublet of veloce.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).