Palate or pallet?
palate is a noun meaning “A part associated with the mouth of certain invertebrates, somewhat analogous…”; pallet is a noun meaning “A bed of loose straw”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) palate is about 1.7 times as common as pallet.
What is the difference between palate and pallet?
| palate | pallet | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | A part associated with the mouth of certain invertebrates, somewhat analogous to the palate of vertebrates A projection in the throat of certain bilabiate flowers as the snapdragon | A bed of loose straw Any makeshift bedding place To load or stack (goods) onto pallets |
| Example | none recorded | Near-synonym: strawbed (mattress sense) |
| Forms | palates | pallets |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpæl.ət/ /ˈpɛl.ət/ /pəˈleʈ/ | /ˈpælɪt/ /ˈpælət/ |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words | 1.3 times per million words |
Sources: palate and pallet in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of palate and pallet
palate
- 1
A part associated with the mouth of certain invertebrates, somewhat analogous to the palate of vertebrates
- 2
A projection in the throat of certain bilabiate flowers as the snapdragon
- 3
The palate of an animal, as an item of food
- 4
A person's ability to distinguish between and appreciate different flavors
- 5
Mental relish; a liking or affinity for something
- 6
Taste or flavour, especially with reference to wine or other alcoholic drinks
pallet
- 1
A bed of loose straw
Near-synonym: strawbed (mattress sense)
- 2
To load or stack (goods) onto pallets
- 3
A narrow vertical stripe, narrower than a pale. Diminutive of pale
- 4
A wooden implement, often oval or round, used by potters, crucible makers, etc., for forming, beating, and rounding their works
- 5
Any makeshift bedding place
Near-synonym: scratcher (slang)
- 6
A potter's wheel
- 7
A portable platform, usually designed to be easily moved by a forklift, on which goods can be stacked, for transport or storage
- 8
An instrument used to take up gold leaf from the pillow, and to apply it
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, palate or pallet?
palate appears 2.2 times per million words; pallet 1.3 times per million words.
palate 2.2 times per million wordspallet 1.3 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search palate vs pallet?
“palate vs pallet” is searched about 70 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“pallet vs palate”, “palate or pallet”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.