vortex
/ˈvɔɹtɛks/noun, verb
vortex is spelled V-O-R-T-E-X: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,613th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, vortex means “A whirlwind, whirlpool, or similarly moving matter in the form of a spiral or column” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of vortex is vortices or vortexes.
How many letters and syllables are in vortex?
| Letters | 6: V-O-R-T-E-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.0 times per million words; the 15,613th 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 vortex?
Vortex appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,613th 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 vortex?
- US /ˈvɔɹtɛks/
Vortex 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-vortex.ogg, En-au-vortex.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with vortex?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as vortex from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹtɛks/):
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 vortex
- vortices plural
- vortexes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- vortexing participle, present
- vortexed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vortex mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A whirlwind, whirlpool, or similarly moving matter in the form of a spiral or column.
- 2
Anything that involves constant violent or chaotic activity around some centre.
- 3
Anything that inevitably draws surrounding things into its current.
- 4
A supposed collection of particles of very subtle matter, endowed with a rapid rotary motion around an axis which was also the axis of a sun or planet; part of a Cartesian theory accounting for the formation of the universe, and the movements of the bodies composing it.
- 5
Any of numerous species of small Turbellaria belonging to Vortex and allied genera.
- 6
A group of vultures or buzzards.
verb
- 1
To mix using a vortex mixer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vortex in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tourbillon |
| German | Wirbel , Strudel |
| Portuguese | turbilhão, redemoinho, rodamoinho, remoinho, vórtice |
| Spanish | remolino , vórtice |
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 vortex come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin vortex. Doublet of vertex.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).