paint

/peɪnt/

//peɪnt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“paint” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,903 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,903
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A substance that is applied as a liquid or paste, and dries into a solid coating that protects or adds colour to an object or surface to which it has been applied.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

paint vs Pan
40% similar
paint vs pin
60% similar
paint vs pit
60% similar

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

Key facts for paint
PropertyValue
Headwordpaint
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/peɪnt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,903
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “paint” 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). paint 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 paint is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /peɪnt/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,903 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for paint, with forms such as "apint", "painnt", and "paintt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Pan", "pin", "pit", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English peynten, from Old French peintier, paincter, itself from paint, the past participle of paindre, from Latin pingō (“to paint”) (perfect passive participle pictus). Displaced native Old English tēafor (“paint”), *tīefran (“to paint”); and … The correct English form is paint, spelled P-A-I-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A substance that is applied as a liquid or paste, and dries into a solid coating that protects or adds colour to an object or surface to which it has been applied.
  2. 2
    A set of containers or blocks of paint of different colors/colours, used for painting pictures.
  3. 3
    The free-throw lane, construed with the.
  4. 4
    Paintballs.
  5. 5
    Synonym of face card (king, queen, or jack).
  6. 6
    Graphics drawn using an input device, not scanned or generated.
  7. 7
    Makeup.
  8. 8
    Tattoo work.
  9. 9
    Any substance fixed with latex to harden it.
  10. 10
    The appearance of an object on a radar screen.

Etymology

From Middle English peynten, from Old French peintier, paincter, itself from paint, the past participle of paindre, from Latin pingō (“to paint”) (perfect passive participle pictus). Displaced native Old English tēafor (“paint”), *tīefran (“to paint”); and Old English mētan (“to paint”) and mǣlan (“to paint, mark with colour”).

This word in other languages

pintura(Español)peinture(Français)Farbe(Deutsch)pintura(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: apint,painnt,paintt,paitn,panit,piant,ppaint

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of paint - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

apint2painnt1paintt1paitn2panit2piant2ppaint1
Edit distance from "paint"

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 "paint"?
"paint" is spelled P-A-I-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /peɪnt/.
What does "paint" mean?
As a noun, "paint" means: A substance that is applied as a liquid or paste, and dries into a solid coating that protects or adds colour to an object or surface to which it has been applied.
What words are commonly confused with "paint"?
"paint" is commonly confused with "Pan", "pin", "pit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "paint"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "paint" is /peɪnt/. 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 "paint"?
From Middle English peynten, from Old French peintier, paincter, itself from paint, the past participle of paindre, from Latin pingō (“to paint”) (perfect passive participle pictus). Displaced native Old English tēafor (“paint”), *tīefran (“to pai... 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.

Using “paint”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-A-I-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /peɪnt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Pan” - see the side-by-side comparison. paint vs Pan
  • 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