Poo or pooh?
poo is a noun meaning “Alternative spelling of pooh: an instance of saying "poo"”; pooh is a noun meaning “An instance of saying "pooh"”. Wiktionary gives them as spellings of the same word. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) poo is about 1.8 times as common as pooh.
What is the difference between poo and pooh?
| poo | pooh | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, interjection, suffix | interjection, noun, verb |
| Meaning | Feces UKA piece of feces or an act of defecation To defecate | Expressing dismissal, contempt, impatience, etc Expressing disgust at an unpleasant smell An instance of saying "pooh" |
| Example | That doggy's doing a poo | I am carelesse what the fustie World speakes of me, puh |
| Forms | poos | poohs |
| Pronunciation | /puː/ /pu/ | /phuː/ /puː/ /pu/ |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words | 1.9 times per million words |
Sources: poo and pooh 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 poo and pooh
poo
- 1
Alternative spelling of pooh: an instance of saying "poo"
- 2
Alternative spelling of pooh: to say "poo"
- 3
Alternative spelling of pooh: Expressing dismissal, disgust, etc
- 4
slangClipping of shampoo
- 5
A poodle crossbreed
- 6
Initialism of post-office order
Thank Papa very much for the P.O.O. which I got cashed without difficulty
- 7
Added to nouns, especially personal names, ending in -y or -ie, or with this sound inserted, to form affectionate, playful diminutives
Fifi! Here girl! Time for walkiepoos [walkies]! – Woof! Woof!
- 8
Used for constructing a breed name of designer dogs one of whose parents is a poodle
pooh
- 1
Expressing dismissal, contempt, impatience, etc
I am carelesse what the fustie World speakes of me, puh
- 2
An instance of saying "pooh"
- 3
To say "pooh"
- 4
Expressing disgust at an unpleasant smell
- 5
Alternative form of poo: feces
- 6
To say "pooh" to
- 7
Alternative form of poo: a minced oath for 'shit'
- 8
UKAlternative form of poo: A piece of feces; an act of defecation
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, poo or pooh?
poo appears 3.5 times per million words; pooh 1.9 times per million words.
poo 3.5 times per million wordspooh 1.9 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).