worth
/wɝθ/adjective, noun
worth is spelled W-O-R-T-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 145 times per million words in written English, the 711th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, worth means “Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in worth?
| Letters | 5: W-O-R-T-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 145 times per million words; the 711th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is worth?
Worth appears 145 times per million words in written English, the 711th 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 worth?
- UK /ˈwɜːθ/
- US /wɝθ/
- British /ˈwəːθ/
Worth has one syllable (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-worth.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with worth
Also written: word.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with worth?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as worth from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹθ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: throw, wroth.
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 worth
- worths plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- worthing participle, present
- worthed past, participle
- worthen participle, past
- word
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does worth mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.
How much / What is your house worth? - Now it's worth half what I paid for it. So it'd sure would be worthwhile to repair before putting it for sale.
- 2
Deserving of.
This rickety beater of a car isn’t worth repairing anymore.
- 3
obsoleteValuable, worthwhile.
- 4
Making a fair equivalent of, repaying or compensating.
This job is hardly worth the effort.
noun
- 1
Value.
I’ll have a dollar's worth of candy, please.
- 2
Merit, excellence.
Our new director is a man whose worth is well acknowledged.
- 3
An amount that could be achieved or produced in a specified time.
- 4
obsoleteHigh social standing, noble rank.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo be, become, betide.
Woe worth the man that crosses me.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Worth in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | équivalent , méritant, valoir la peine , valeur |
| German | Wert , verdienen, sich lohnen |
| Portuguese | equivalente , valer a pena , valor |
| Spanish | valioso , que vale la pena , valor, valía, valer |
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 worth come from?
From Middle English worth, from Old English weorþ, from Proto-West Germanic *werþ, from Proto-Germanic *werþaz (“worthy, valuable”); from Proto-Indo-European *wert-.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).