spell
Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers.
Noun 4 meanings
Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers.
“He cast a spell to cure warts.”
A magical effect or influence induced by an incantation or formula.
“under a spell”
A shift (of work); (rare) a set of workers responsible for a specific turn of labour.
A definite period (of work or other activity).
Verb 4 meanings
To put under the influence of a spell; to affect by a spell; to bewitch; to fascinate; to charm.
To write or say the letters that form a word or part of a word.
“I find it difficult to spell because I'm dyslexic.”
Of letters: to compose (a word).
“The letters “a”, “n” and “d” spell “and”.”
To clarify; to explain in detail.
“Please spell it out for me.”
Etymology
From Middle English spell, spel, from Old English spell (“news, story”), from Proto-Germanic *spellą (“speech, account, tale”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to tell”) or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to speak, to sound”) with the s-mobile prefix.
Similar and opposite words
SPELL at a glance
SPELL has 5 letters and scores 7 points in Scrabble (S 1 + P 3 + E 1 + L 1 + L 1) and 10 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #3,774 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with spell
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