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PlainSpell

panel

/ˈpænəl/noun, verb

panel is a noun meaning “A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled P-A-N-E-L and has 2 syllables, and it appears 35 times per million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of panel is panels.

What does panel mean?

noun

  1. 1

    A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc.

    Behind the picture was a panel on the wall.

  2. 2

    A sunken compartment with raised margins, moulded or otherwise, as in ceilings, wainscotings, etc.

  3. 3

    A group of people gathered to judge, interview, discuss etc. as on a television or radio broadcast for example.

    Today’s panel includes John Smith.

  4. 4

    A portion of text or other material within a book, newspaper, web page, etc. set apart from the main body or separated by a border.

  5. 5

    An individual frame or drawing in a comic.

    The last panel of a comic strip usually contains a punchline.

  6. 6

    A type of GUI widget, such as a control panel.

    admin panel

  7. 7

    A document containing the names of persons summoned as jurors by the sheriff.

  8. 8

    The whole jury.

verb

  1. 1

    obsoleteTo enter (jury members) on an official list of jurors; to empanel.

  2. 2

    obsoleteTo fit (an animal, especially a mule or ass) with a panel or simple padded saddle.

  3. 3

    To fit (a room etc.) with panels.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you pronounce panel?

  • UK /ˈpænəl/
  • UK [ˈpæn.ɫ̩]
  • US /ˈpænəl/

Panel has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-panel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of panel

  • panels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • pannel
  • paneling US, participle, present
  • panelling UK, participle, present
  • paneled US, participle, past
  • panelled UK, participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How common is panel?

Panel appears 35 times per million words in written English, the 2,725th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

Words people confuse with panel

Also written: paneled, panelled.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Panel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpanneau (rectangular section of a surface), table ronde (group of people gathered to judge, interview…), case, vignette (single frame in a comic strip)
GermanVerkleidung, Platte, Tafel, Paneel, Holzpaneel (rectangular section of a surface)
Portuguesepainel (rectangular section of a surface), quadrinho, quadro, vinheta (single frame in a comic strip)
Spanishpanel, painel (rectangular section of a surface), tertulia (group of people gathered to judge, interview…), viñeta (single frame in a comic strip)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does panel come from?

From Middle English panel (“piece of cloth, saddle pad, pane of glass, piece of ice, part, division, jury list, jury members”), from Anglo-Norman panel, panelle (“piece of cloth, saddle cushion”), from Vulgar Latin *pannellus, diminutive of Latin pannus (“cloth, rag, garment”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“fabric”). Cognate with Old English fana (“a piece of cloth, patch, banner, flag, vane”). Doublet of vane.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).