de plus en plus

\də ply.z‿ɑ̃ ply\

/\də ply.z‿ɑ̃ ply\/ adv

The verdict

“de plus en plus” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - En progressant, en bien comme en mal.

Corpus desk

Index FR-de-plus-en-plus · de plus en plus · French

de plus en plus · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for de plus en plus
PropertyValue
Headwordde plus en plus
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\də ply.z‿ɑ̃ ply\
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « de plus en plus » en français

de plus en plussiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

de plus en plus is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \də ply.z‿ɑ̃ ply\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

de plus en plus doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is de plus en plus, spelled D-E- -P-L-U-S- -E-N- -P-L-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    En progressant, en bien comme en mal.
  2. 2
    Un nombre croissant de, une quantité croissante de.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how de plus en plus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Je m’épanouis de plus en plus dans ce championnat, confie Philippe Hirschberger, actuel entraîneur d’Amiens, qui a coaché plus de 560 matchs de Ligue 2.
  2. Les postiches rejettent encore en arrière le développement de la jupe, tandis que le vaste fichu de linon, le fichu menteur, engonçant le cou, amplifiant la poitrine, se projette de plus en plus en avant.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "de plus en plus"?
"de plus en plus" is spelled D-E- -P-L-U-S- -E-N- -P-L-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is \də ply.z‿ɑ̃ ply\.
What does "de plus en plus" mean?
As an adverb, "de plus en plus" means: En progressant, en bien comme en mal.
How do you pronounce "de plus en plus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "de plus en plus" is \də ply.z‿ɑ̃ ply\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "de plus en plus" come from?
"de plus en plus" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list