People or pupil?
people is a noun meaning “Persons forming or belonging to a particular group, such as a nation, class…”; pupil is a noun meaning “A learner at a school under the supervision of a teacher”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) people is about 275 times as common as pupil.
What is the difference between people and pupil?
| people | pupil | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, suffix | noun |
| Meaning | Persons forming or belonging to a particular group, such as a nation, class, ethnic group, country, family, etc A group of persons regarded as being servants, followers, companions or subjects of a ruler or leader To stock with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to populate | A learner at a school under the supervision of a teacher One who studies under supervision of a renowned expert in their field The hole in the middle of the iris of the eye, through which light passes to be focused on the retina |
| Example | There were so many people at the restaurant last night | The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Diſcharge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extinguiſh the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and… |
| Forms | peoples | pupils |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpi.pəl/ [ˈpʰi.pəɫ] [ˈpʰi.pɫ̩] | /ˈpjuːpəl/ /ˈpj̥uːpəɫ/ |
| In writing | 1,778 times per million words | 6.5 times per million words |
Sources: people and pupil 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 people and pupil
people
- 1
Persons forming or belonging to a particular group, such as a nation, class, ethnic group, country, family, etc
a people apart
- 2
To stock with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to populate
- 3
A group of persons regarded as being servants, followers, companions or subjects of a ruler or leader
Moses said, "Let my people go."
- 4
To become populous or populated
- 5
One's colleagues or employees
I'll have my people call your people
- 6
To inhabit; to occupy; to populate
[…] / As thick and numberless / As the gay motes that people the Sun Beams, / […]
- 7
A person's ancestors, relatives or family
My people lived through the Black Plague and the Thirty Years War
- 8
The mass of a community as distinguished from a special class (elite); the commonalty; the populace; the vulgar; the common crowd; the citizens
The people have successfully stood up against tyranny and totalitarianism
pupil
- 1
A learner at a school under the supervision of a teacher
The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Diſcharge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extinguiſh the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and conſequently of all the reſt, they…
- 2
The hole in the middle of the iris of the eye, through which light passes to be focused on the retina
- 3
One who studies under supervision of a renowned expert in their field
Plato was Socrates' pupil, and in turn Aristotle was Plato's pupil
- 4
The central dark part of an ocellated spot
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, people or pupil?
people appears 1,778 times per million words; pupil 6.5 times per million words.
people 1,778 times per million wordspupil 6.5 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).