frying pan

noun

"frying-pan" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A long-handled, shallow pan used for frying food.

Corpus desk

Index EN-frying-pan · frying pan · English

frying pan · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" 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 frying pan
PropertyValue
Headwordfrying pan
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “frying pan” in English

frying pansits 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

frying pan is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A long-handled, shallow pan used for frying food.".

Zero misspellings are on record for frying pan in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English fryyng panne; equivalent to frying + pan. The correct English form is frying pan, spelled F-R-Y-I-N-G- -P-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A long-handled, shallow pan used for frying food.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. And if thy oblation be a meate offering baken in the frying pan,it ſhalbe made of fine flowꝛe with oyle.

Etymology

From Middle English fryyng panne; equivalent to frying + pan.

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 "frying pan"?
"frying pan" is spelled F-R-Y-I-N-G- -P-A-N.
What does "frying pan" mean?
As a noun, "frying pan" means: A long-handled, shallow pan used for frying food.
What is the origin of the word "frying pan"?
From Middle English fryyng panne; equivalent to frying + pan. 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