verbatim
/vəɹˈbeɪ.tɪm/adverb, adjective, noun
verbatim is spelled V-E-R-B-A-T-I-M. The wrong spelling people search most is verbatum: about 290 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 18 of all searches for the word. Verbatim is an adverb meaning “Word for word; in exactly the same words as were used originally”.
How many letters and syllables are in verbatim?
| Letters | 8: V-E-R-B-A-T-I-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,420th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, verbatum, about 290 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell verbatim?
Verbatim is spelled V-E-R-B-A-T-I-M. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 18 of the searches for verbatim in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is verbatim?
Verbatim appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th 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 verbatim?
- UK /vɜːˈbeɪ.tɪm/
- US /vəɹˈbeɪ.tɪm/
Verbatim has 3 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-verbatim.ogg, En-au-verbatim.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with verbatim?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as verbatim from its last stressed vowel (/eɪtɪm/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ambivert.
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 verbatim
- more verbatim comparative
- most verbatim superlative
- verbatims plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does verbatim mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Word for word; in exactly the same words as were used originally.
I have copied his speech verbatim, so this is exactly what he said, word for word.
- 2
obsoleteOrally; verbally.
adjective
- 1
Corresponding with the original word for word.
Date unknown: Joint Committee on Printing Congress of the United States, General Statement of Procedure for Verbatim Reporting of Proceedings in Senate Chamber, page five:
- 2
Able to take down a speech word for word, especially in shorthand.
Some States require voice writers to pass a test and to earn State licensure. As a substitute for State licensure, the National Verbatim Reporters Association offers three national certifications to voice writers: Certified Verbatim Reporte
noun
- 1
A word-for-word report of a speech.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Verbatim in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | texto, mot pour mot, littéralement, mot à mot , littéral , verbatim |
| German | wortgetreu, wortwörtlich, Wort für Wort |
| Portuguese | à letra, palavra por palavra, ipsis litteris, verbatim, literalmente |
| Spanish | de verbo ad vérbum, según y como, según y conforme, trasuntivamente, trasuntadamente, transcriptamente |
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 verbatim come from?
Attested in English since 1481 (therefore considered a Middle English derivation by some): from Medieval Latin verbātim (“word for word”), from Latin verbum (“word”) + -ātim (adverbial suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).