Pitty or pity?
pitty is a noun meaning “A pit bull terrier”; pity is a noun meaning “A feeling of sympathy at the misfortune or suffering of someone or something”. They sound the same (/ˈpɪti/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) pity is about 50 times as common as pitty.
What is the difference between pitty and pity?
| pitty | pity | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun, verb, interjection |
| Meaning | A feeling of sympathy at the misfortune or suffering of someone or something Feeling of contempt one has for someone who is hopelessly inferior To feel pity for (someone or something) | |
| Example | none recorded | I can't feel any pity towards the gang, who got injured while attempting to break into a flat |
| Forms | pitties | pities |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpɪti/ | /ˈpɪt.i/ |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words | 9.5 times per million words |
Sources: pitty and pity 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 pitty and pity
pitty
- 1
slangA pit bull terrier
pity
- 1
A feeling of sympathy at the misfortune or suffering of someone or something
I can't feel any pity towards the gang, who got injured while attempting to break into a flat
- 2
To feel pity for (someone or something)
You have got to pity the guy - he lost his wife, mother and job in the same month
- 3
Ellipsis of what a pity
- 4
Feeling of contempt one has for someone who is hopelessly inferior
- 5
To feel contempt for someone who is hopelessly inferior
- 6
Something regrettable
It's a pity you're feeling unwell because there's a party on tonight
- 7
To make (someone) feel pity; to provoke the sympathy or compassion of
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, pitty or pity?
pitty appears about once in every 5 million words; pity 9.5 times per million words.
pitty about once in every 5 million wordspity 9.5 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).