guppy

/ˈɡʌpi/

//ˈɡʌpi// noun

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

"guppy" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“guppy” is uncommon English (frequency #53,583 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,583
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tiny freshwater fish, Poecilia reticulata, popular in home aquariums, that usually has a plain body and black or dark blue tail for the females and a more colorful tail for the males. The guppies...

Corpus desk

Index EN-guppy · guppy · English

guppy · rank #53,583 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,583
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH Guyanese

Nearest frequency peer: Guyanese (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “guppy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “guppy” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for guppy
PropertyValue
Headwordguppy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡʌpi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#53,583
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “guppy” in English

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).guppyfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Guyanese” (#53,584), “guzzling” (#53,585), “gynaecology” (#53,586). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “guppy” is #53,583. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

guppy is uncommon English at frequency #53,583 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡʌpi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 16 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for guppy, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a name mistakenly assigned, Girardinus guppii, after biologist Robert J. L. Guppy, to previously assigned Poecilia reticulata. The correct English form is guppy, spelled G-U-P-P-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tiny freshwater fish, Poecilia reticulata, popular in home aquariums, that usually has a plain body and black or dark blue tail for the females and a more colorful tail for the males. The guppies can vary in size, but males are 4 cm (1.6”) and females are 7 cm (2.8”).
  2. 2
    Any tiny fish.
  3. 3
    A tube holding paintballs before they are loaded into the gun.
  4. 4
    A hold across the palm of the hand rather than the fingertips.
  5. 5
    Acanthocephalus guppii
  6. 6
    Acanthocephalus reticulatus
  7. 7
    Girardinus guppii
  8. 8
    Girardinus petersi
  9. 9
    Girardinus poeciloides
  10. 10
    Girardinus reticulatus
  11. 11
    Haridichthys reticulatus
  12. 12
    Heterandria guppyi
  13. 13
    Lebistes poecilioides
  14. 14
    Lebistes reticulatus
  15. 15
    Poecilia poeciloides
  16. 16
    Poecilioides reticulatus

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Fred kept a tank of guppies by the windowsill.
  2. Throw that one back; it’s just a guppy!

Etymology

From a name mistakenly assigned, Girardinus guppii, after biologist Robert J. L. Guppy, to previously assigned Poecilia reticulata.

This word in other languages

guppy(Français)guppy(Português)

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 "guppy"?
"guppy" is spelled G-U-P-P-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡʌpi/.
What does "guppy" mean?
As a noun, "guppy" means: A tiny freshwater fish, Poecilia reticulata, popular in home aquariums, that usually has a plain body and black or dark blue tail for the females and a more colorful tail for the males. The guppies...
How do you pronounce "guppy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "guppy" is /ˈɡʌpi/. 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 "guppy"?
From a name mistakenly assigned, Girardinus guppii, after biologist Robert J. L. Guppy, to previously assigned Poecilia reticulata. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

flyby#53,551Ishii#53,626Izumi#53,629esper#53,524

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list