CPS

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cps" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“CPS” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #16,880) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#16,880
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Initialism of characters per second.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cps · CPS · English

CPS · rank #16,880 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,880
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crook

Nearest frequency peer: crook (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “CPS”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “CPS” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

CPS vs CT
33% similar
CPS vs CR
33% similar
CPS vs cs
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for CPS
PropertyValue
HeadwordCPS
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters3
Frequency rank#16,880
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “CPS”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).CPSlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “crook” (#16,881), “cucumber” (#16,882), “coronary” (#16,876). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “CPS” is #16,880. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for CPS is neighbouring look-alikes ("CT", "CR", …), not just typos; it is anoun. Frequency #16,880 among 5,599 “C” headwords. 9 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

CPS has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CT", "CR", "cs", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is CPS, spelled C-P-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Initialism of characters per second.
  2. 2
    Initialism of clicks per second.
  3. 3
    Initialism of counts per second.
  4. 4
    Initialism of cycles per second.
  5. 5
    Initialism of child protective services.
  6. 6
    Initialism of clean plate syndrome.
  7. 7
    Initialism of Current Population Survey.
  8. 8
    Initialism of cyber-physical system.
  9. 9
    Initialism of continuation-passing style.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how CPS appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I can’t let the reporters see him looking like this anyway, so swollen that CPS would be here before dinner.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "CPS"?
"CPS" is spelled C-P-S.
What does "CPS" mean?
As a noun, "CPS" means: Initialism of characters per second.
What words are commonly confused with "CPS"?
"CPS" is commonly confused with "CT", "CR", "cs". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "CPS" come from?
"CPS" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "CPS", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

CAD#16,858goo#16,927STD#16,797PHP#16,771

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list