cutpurse

/ˈkʌtˌpɜːs/

//ˈkʌtˌpɜːs// noun

"cutpurse" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cutpurse” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A thief who steals from others' purses or pockets in public.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cutpurse · cutpurse · English

cutpurse · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for cutpurse
PropertyValue
Headwordcutpurse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʌtˌpɜːs/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cutpurse” in English

cutpursesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cutpurse is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkʌtˌpɜːs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A thief who steals from others' purses or pockets in public.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cutpurse, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cutte-purs; equivalent to cut + purse: originally, purses were worn by a strap at the girdle, which the thief would cut. The correct English form is cutpurse, spelled C-U-T-P-U-R-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thief who steals from others' purses or pockets in public.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A cutpurse of the empire and the rule
  2. The Gipsie snap & Pedro are none of Toms Comradoes, yͤ punck I skorne, & yͤ cutpurse sworn & yͤ roring boyes brauadoes

Etymology

From Middle English cutte-purs; equivalent to cut + purse: originally, purses were worn by a strap at the girdle, which the thief would cut.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cutpurse"?
"cutpurse" is spelled C-U-T-P-U-R-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʌtˌpɜːs/.
What does "cutpurse" mean?
As a noun, "cutpurse" means: A thief who steals from others' purses or pockets in public.
How do you pronounce "cutpurse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cutpurse" is /ˈkʌtˌpɜːs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cutpurse"?
From Middle English cutte-purs; equivalent to cut + purse: originally, purses were worn by a strap at the girdle, which the thief would cut. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list