word.
The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.)
Meaning & usage
The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.)
The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.) The smallest discrete unit of spoken language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more phonemes and one or more morphemes.
The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.) The smallest discrete unit of written language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more letters or symbols and one or more morphemes.
The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.) A discrete, meaningful unit of language approved by an authority or native speaker (compare non-word).
The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.) A sign used in a sign language.
Something like such a unit of language: A sequence of letters, characters, or sounds, considered as a discrete entity, though it does not necessarily belong to a language or have a meaning.
Something like such a unit of language: A unit of text equivalent to five characters and one space.
Something like such a unit of language: A fixed-size group of bits handled as a unit by a machine and which can be stored in or retrieved from a typical register (so that it has the same size as such a register).
Something like such a unit of language: With regards to Intel or Intel-compatible hardware and/or in the context of Windows programming, a group of exactly 16 bits regardless of the actual processor capabilities; a fossilized unit referring to the small word size of historical CPUs.
Something like such a unit of language: A finite string that is not a command or operator.
Something like such a unit of language: A group element, expressed as a product of group elements.
The fact or act of speaking, as opposed to taking action. .
Something that someone said; a comment, utterance; speech.
A watchword or rallying cry, a verbal signal (even when consisting of multiple words).
mum's the word
A proverb or motto.
News; tidings.
Have you had any word from John yet?
I've tried for weeks to get word, but I still don't know where she is or if she's all right.
An order; a request or instruction; an expression of will.
He sent word that we should strike camp before winter.
Don't fire till I give the word.
A promise; an oath or guarantee.
I give you my word that I will be there on time.
A brief discussion or conversation.
I managed to murmur some words of consolation as I left the funeral.
Can I have a word with you?
A minor reprimand.
I had a word with him about it.
See words.
There had been words between him and the secretary about the outcome of the meeting.
After seeing me pull up, he decided to come out to start words with me about what I said about him.
Communication from God; the message of the Christian gospel; the Bible, Scripture.
Her parents had lived in Botswana, spreading the word among the tribespeople.
Logos, Christ.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English word, from Old English word, from Proto-West Germanic *word, from Proto-Germanic *wurdą (“word”), from Proto-Indo-European *werdʰom (“word”), from *werh₁- (“to say, speak”). Doublet of verb, verve, and vort; further related to vrata. Cognates Cognate with Scots wird (“word”), North Frisian uurd, Uurt, wurd, wårde, wür (“word”), Saterland Frisian Woud, Wud (“word”), West Frisian wurd (“word”), Alemannic German wort, wourd, wuart, wòrt, wört (“word”), Bavarian boart, bort, bört, Wurt (“word”), Cimbrian bóart, bort (“word”), Dutch woord (“word”), German Wort (“word”), German Low German Woord, Woort (“word”), Limburgish waord, Woërt (“word”), Luxembourgish Wuert (“word”), Mòcheno bourt (“word”), Vilamovian wiüt, wuyt (“word”), Yiddish וואָרט (vort, “word”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish ord (“word”), Elfdalian uord (“word”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Scanian orð (“word”), Gutnish ård (“word”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 (waurd, “word”); also Ancient Greek ῥητός (rhētós, “spoken, stipulated”); also Latin verbum (“word”), Umbrian 𐌖𐌄𐌓𐌚𐌀𐌋𐌄 (uerfale, “temple”), Ancient Greek εἴρω (eírō, “to say, speak, tell”), Latgalian vuords (“name; word”), Latvian vārds (“name; word”), Lithuanian var̃das (“name”), Russian врать (vratʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian ва̏рати, vȁrati (“to cheat, deceive, trick, swindle; to be mistaken”), Armenian հորջորջել (horǰorǰel, “to call, name”), Ashkun vīri (“word”), Kamkata-viri vëri, viri (“word”), Prasuni veri, verī, vëre, vëri (“word”), Sanskrit व्रत (vrata, “command; law; will”).
To say or write (something) using particular words; to phrase (something).
strongly worded letter
I’m not sure how to word this letter to the council.
To flatter with words, to cajole.
To ply or overpower with words.
To conjure with a word.
To speak, to use words; to converse, to discourse.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English word, from Old English word, from Proto-West Germanic *word, from Proto-Germanic *wurdą (“word”), from Proto-Indo-European *werdʰom (“word”), from *werh₁- (“to say, speak”). Doublet of verb, verve, and vort; further related to vrata. Cognates Cognate with Scots wird (“word”), North Frisian uurd, Uurt, wurd, wårde, wür (“word”), Saterland Frisian Woud, Wud (“word”), West Frisian wurd (“word”), Alemannic German wort, wourd, wuart, wòrt, wört (“word”), Bavarian boart, bort, bört, Wurt (“word”), Cimbrian bóart, bort (“word”), Dutch woord (“word”), German Wort (“word”), German Low German Woord, Woort (“word”), Limburgish waord, Woërt (“word”), Luxembourgish Wuert (“word”), Mòcheno bourt (“word”), Vilamovian wiüt, wuyt (“word”), Yiddish וואָרט (vort, “word”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish ord (“word”), Elfdalian uord (“word”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Scanian orð (“word”), Gutnish ård (“word”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 (waurd, “word”); also Ancient Greek ῥητός (rhētós, “spoken, stipulated”); also Latin verbum (“word”), Umbrian 𐌖𐌄𐌓𐌚𐌀𐌋𐌄 (uerfale, “temple”), Ancient Greek εἴρω (eírō, “to say, speak, tell”), Latgalian vuords (“name; word”), Latvian vārds (“name; word”), Lithuanian var̃das (“name”), Russian врать (vratʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian ва̏рати, vȁrati (“to cheat, deceive, trick, swindle; to be mistaken”), Armenian հորջորջել (horǰorǰel, “to call, name”), Ashkun vīri (“word”), Kamkata-viri vëri, viri (“word”), Prasuni veri, verī, vëre, vëri (“word”), Sanskrit व्रत (vrata, “command; law; will”).
Truth, indeed, that is the truth! The shortened form of the statement “My word is my bond.”
"Yo, that movie was epic!" / "Word?" ("You speak the truth?") / "Word." ("I speak the truth.")
An abbreviated form of word up; a statement of the acknowledgment of fact with a hint of nonchalant approval.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English word, from Old English word, from Proto-West Germanic *word, from Proto-Germanic *wurdą (“word”), from Proto-Indo-European *werdʰom (“word”), from *werh₁- (“to say, speak”). Doublet of verb, verve, and vort; further related to vrata. Cognates Cognate with Scots wird (“word”), North Frisian uurd, Uurt, wurd, wårde, wür (“word”), Saterland Frisian Woud, Wud (“word”), West Frisian wurd (“word”), Alemannic German wort, wourd, wuart, wòrt, wört (“word”), Bavarian boart, bort, bört, Wurt (“word”), Cimbrian bóart, bort (“word”), Dutch woord (“word”), German Wort (“word”), German Low German Woord, Woort (“word”), Limburgish waord, Woërt (“word”), Luxembourgish Wuert (“word”), Mòcheno bourt (“word”), Vilamovian wiüt, wuyt (“word”), Yiddish וואָרט (vort, “word”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish ord (“word”), Elfdalian uord (“word”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Scanian orð (“word”), Gutnish ård (“word”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 (waurd, “word”); also Ancient Greek ῥητός (rhētós, “spoken, stipulated”); also Latin verbum (“word”), Umbrian 𐌖𐌄𐌓𐌚𐌀𐌋𐌄 (uerfale, “temple”), Ancient Greek εἴρω (eírō, “to say, speak, tell”), Latgalian vuords (“name; word”), Latvian vārds (“name; word”), Lithuanian var̃das (“name”), Russian врать (vratʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian ва̏рати, vȁrati (“to cheat, deceive, trick, swindle; to be mistaken”), Armenian հորջորջել (horǰorǰel, “to call, name”), Ashkun vīri (“word”), Kamkata-viri vëri, viri (“word”), Prasuni veri, verī, vëre, vëri (“word”), Sanskrit व्रत (vrata, “command; law; will”).
Alternative form of worth (“to become”).
Where this word comes from
Variant of worth (“to become, turn into, grow, get”), from Middle English worthen, from Old English weorþan (“to turn into, become, grow”), from Proto-West Germanic *werþan, from Proto-Germanic *werþaną (“to turn, turn into, become”). More at worth § Verb.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.