warn
/woɹn/verb
warn is spelled W-A-R-N: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 6,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “warn vs worn” about 50 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, warn means “To make (someone) aware of impending danger, evil, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in warn?
| Letters | 4: W-A-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 6,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 common is warn?
Warn appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 6,884th 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 warn?
- UK /wɔːn/
- British /woːn/
- US /woɹn/
Warn has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-worn.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with warn
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: worn (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with warn?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as warn from its last stressed vowel (/oɹn/):
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 warn
- warns present, singular, he/she/it
- warning participle, present
- warned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does warn mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make (someone) aware of impending danger, evil, etc.
We waved a flag to warn the oncoming traffic about the accident.
- 2
To notify or inform (someone, about something).
I warned him he'd be getting a huge box of birthday presents from me.
- 3
To summon (someone) to or inform of a formal meeting or duty.
The sheriff warned her to appear in court.
- 4
obsoleteTo make a sound (e.g. clicking or whirring) indicating that it is about to strike or chime (an hour).
- 5
To caution or admonish (someone) against unwise or unacceptable behaviour.
He was warned against crossing the railway tracks at night.
- 6
To advise or order to go or stay away.
A sign warns trespassers off/away from the site.
- 7
To give warning.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Warn in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | avertir, alerter , prévenir |
| German | warnen, mahnen |
| Portuguese | avisar, alertar, advertir |
| Spanish | alertar, avisar, advertir, aldabear, amonestar |
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 warn come from?
From Middle English warnen, warnien (“to warn; admonish”), from Old English warnian (“to take heed; warn”), from Proto-Germanic *warnōną (“to warn; take heed”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to be aware; give heed”). Cognate with Dutch waarnen (obsolete), German Low German warnen, German warnen, Swedish varna, Icelandic varna.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).