welcome
wel·come/ˈwɛl.kəm/adjective, interjection, noun, verb
welcome is spelled W-E-L-C-O-M-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (wel·come). It appears 98 times per million words in written English, the 1,112th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, welcome means “Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in welcome?
| Letters | 7: W-E-L-C-O-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: wel·come |
| In writing | 98 times per million words; the 1,112th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is welcome?
Welcome appears 98 times per million words in written English, the 1,112th 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 welcome?
- US /ˈwɛl.kəm/
Welcome has 2 syllables, split wel·come in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-welcome.ogg, En-us-welcome.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of welcome
- welcomer comparative
- welcomest superlative
- welcum
- welcomes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- welcoming participle, present
- welcomed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does welcome mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company.
a welcome visitor
- 2
Producing gladness.
a welcome turn of events; welcome news
- 3
Followed by to: free to have or enjoy gratuitously.
You are welcome to the use of my library.
interjection
- 1
Greeting given upon someone's arrival.
Welcome to the life of Electra Heart!
- 2
nonstandardEllipsis of you're welcome..
noun
- 1
The act of greeting someone’s arrival, especially by saying "Welcome!"; reception.
- 2
The utterance of such a greeting.
- 3
Kind reception of a guest or newcomer.
We entered the house and found a ready welcome.
- 4
The state of being a welcome guest; a feeling of one's presence and comfort being desired.
verb
- 1
To affirm or greet the arrival of someone, especially by saying "Welcome!".
- 2
To accept something willingly or gladly.
We welcome suggestions for improvement.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Welcome in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bienvenu , bienvenue , accueillir, souhaiter la bienvenue |
| German | willkommen , willkomme! , begrüßen , Begrüßung, Empfang , Herzlich willkommen Begrüßung |
| Portuguese | bem-vindo , bem-vindo!, bem-vinda!, bem-vindos!, bem-vindas! , recepção |
| Spanish | bienvenido, agradable , ¡bienvenido!, ¡bienvenida!, bienvenidos , grato |
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 welcome come from?
From Middle English welcome, wolcume, wulcume, wilcume, from Old English wilcuma (“a wished-for guest”; compare also wilcume (“welcome!”, interjection)), from Proto-West Germanic *willjakwemō, from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô (“a wished-for arrival or guest”), possibly from *wiljakwemaną (“to be welcome”), equivalent to will (“desire”) + come (“comer, arrival”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).