x
/ɛks/letter, adjective, number, conjunction
x is spelled X: one letter and one syllable. It appears 158 times per million words in written English, the 638th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a letter, x means “The twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, called ex and written in the Latin script” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in x?
| Letters | 1: X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 158 times per million words; the 638th 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 x?
X appears 158 times per million words in written English, the 638th 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 x?
- /ɛks/
- /ks/
- /ɡz/
X 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-X.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-X.wav, En-us-x.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does x mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
letter
- 1
The twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, called ex and written in the Latin script.
- 2
Forming gender-neutral or otherwise more inclusive versions of words, especially Spanish-derived words by replacing both the masculine -o and feminine -a.
alumnx, Chicanx (Xicanx), Filipinx, Latinx, Mx, mxn, Tejanx, womxn
number
- 1
An unknown or unspecified number of.
conjunction
- 1
slangUsed between the names of two characters to denote a ship, particularly in anime, manga, and video games.
- 2
Used in place of and in artist collaborations.
Taska Black x DROELOE, Steve Aoki x Lauren Jauregui, etc.
number
- 1
An unknown quantity or unknown value.
Let X represent the forecast traffic flow in 20 years’ time.
letter
- 1
The twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, called ex and written in the Latin script.
noun
- 1
Any mark that looks like that letter, such as a mark made by a person who cannot read or write in lieu of a signature.
- 2
The spot behind the goal.
- 3
slangEcstasy, a particular street drug.
- 4
Cross, crossing.
Kennington via Charing X
adjective
- 1
Intersex or non-binary (in passports and identification documents).
- 2
datedSuitable only for those aged sixteen or (later) eighteen years and over.
- 3
Obscene; adult; pornographic; XXX.
- 4
informalAbbreviation of extreme.
verb
- 1
Alternative spelling of ex (“to delete; to cross out”).
adjective
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of X (“intersex or non-binary (in passports and identification documents)”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
X in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense unknown quantity or unknown value:
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.