synapse

\si.naps\

/\si.naps\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“synapse” is an uncommon French word, ranked #75,275 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#75,275
frequency rank, French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Zone de quasi-contact qui permet la transmission d’un signal électrique entre deux neurones. Elle relie le bouton synaptique du neurone en amont et n’importe quelle partie du neurone en aval.

Key facts for synapse
PropertyValue
Headwordsynapse
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\si.naps\
Letters7
Frequency rank#75,275
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “synapse” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). synapse lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for synapse is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \si.naps\. Corpus data places it at rank #75,275 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for synapse in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is synapse, spelled S-Y-N-A-P-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Zone de quasi-contact qui permet la transmission d’un signal électrique entre deux neurones. Elle relie le bouton synaptique du neurone en amont et n’importe quelle partie du neurone en aval.
  2. 2
    Zones de contact incomplet spécialisées dans la transmission de l’influx nerveux d’un neurone à l’autre ou entre un neurone et une fibre musculaire. (Définition de Shérington)

This word in other languages

synapse(English)sinapsis(Español)Synapse(Deutsch)sinapse(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "synapse"?
"synapse" is spelled S-Y-N-A-P-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \si.naps\.
What does "synapse" mean?
As a noun, "synapse" means: Zone de quasi-contact qui permet la transmission d’un signal électrique entre deux neurones. Elle relie le bouton synaptique du neurone en amont et n’importe quelle partie du neurone en aval.
How do you pronounce "synapse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "synapse" is \si.naps\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "synapse" come from?
"synapse" 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.

Using “synapse”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is S-Y-N-A-P-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \si.naps\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list