vertigo
/ˈvɝtɪɡoʊ/noun
vertigo is spelled V-E-R-T-I-G-O: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, vertigo means “A sensation of whirling and loss of balance, caused by looking down from a great height or by disease affecting the inner ear” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of vertigo is vertigos or vertigoes.
How many letters and syllables are in vertigo?
| Letters | 7: V-E-R-T-I-G-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,536th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is vertigo?
Vertigo appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th 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 vertigo?
- UK /ˈvɜːtɪɡəʊ/
- US /ˈvɝtɪɡoʊ/
Vertigo 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-vertigo.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of vertigo
- vertigos plural
- vertigoes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vertigo mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A sensation of whirling and loss of balance, caused by looking down from a great height or by disease affecting the inner ear.
- 2
A disordered or imbalanced state of mind or things analogous to physical vertigo; mental giddiness or dizziness.
- 3
The act of whirling round and round; rapid rotation.
- 4
A snail of the genus Vertigo.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vertigo in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense sensation of whirling and loss of balance:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vertige, labyrinthite |
| German | Schwindel |
| Portuguese | oura, tontura, vertigem |
| Spanish | vértigo, mareo |
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 vertigo come from?
Borrowed from Latin vertīgō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).