DPS

noun

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

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

The verdict

“DPS” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #24,147 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#24,147
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Initialism of damage per second; a standard way to calculate the damage dealt to other players or creatures in online role-playing games.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

DPS vs Dr
33% similar
DPS vs DS
67% similar
DPS vs DT
33% similar

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

Key facts for DPS
PropertyValue
HeadwordDPS
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters3
Frequency rank#24,147
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “DPS” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). DPS lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for DPS is 3 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #24,147 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

DPS has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Dr", "DS", "DT", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is DPS, spelled D-P-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Initialism of damage per second; a standard way to calculate the damage dealt to other players or creatures in online role-playing games.
  2. 2
    Initialism of damage per second; a standard way to calculate the damage dealt to other players or creatures in online role-playing games.
  3. 3
    Initialism of delivery point sequence.
  4. 4
    Initialism of designated premises supervisor.
  5. 5
    Initialism of disintegration per second.
  6. 6
    Initialism of double page spread.
  7. 7
    Initialism of Doege-Potter syndrome.

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 "DPS"?
"DPS" is spelled D-P-S.
What does "DPS" mean?
As a noun, "DPS" means: Initialism of damage per second; a standard way to calculate the damage dealt to other players or creatures in online role-playing games.
What words are commonly confused with "DPS"?
"DPS" is commonly confused with "Dr", "DS", "DT". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "DPS" come from?
"DPS" 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.

Using “DPS”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-P-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “Dr” - see the side-by-side comparison. DPS vs Dr
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list