pair

/pɛə/

//pɛə// noun

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

"pair" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pair” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,955) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,955
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Two alike or identical things taken together; often followed by of.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pair · pair · English

pair · rank #1,955 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,955
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH matters

Nearest frequency peer: matters (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pair”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pair” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pair vs PR
0% similar
pair vs pi
50% similar
pair vs per
50% similar

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

Key facts for pair
PropertyValue
Headwordpair
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɛə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,955
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pair” 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). pair lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for pair is neighbouring look-alikes ("PR", "pi", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /pɛə/. Frequency #1,955 among 4,417 “P” headwords. 16 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for pair, with forms such as "apir", "pairr", and "piar". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PR", "pi", "per", 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 paire, from Old French paire, from Latin paria (“equals”), neuter plural of par (“pair”). Related to pār (“equal”, adjective). Compare Saterland Frisian Poor (“pair”), West Frisian pear (“pair”), Dutch paar (“pair”), German Paar (“pair”)… The correct English form is pair, spelled P-A-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Two alike or identical things taken together; often followed by of.
  2. 2
    Two alike or identical things taken together; often followed by of.
  3. 3
    Two people in a relationship, partnership or friendship.
  4. 4
    Used with binary nouns (often in the plural to indicate multiple instances, since such nouns are plural only, except in some technical contexts).
  5. 5
    A couple of working animals attached to work together, as by a yoke.
  6. 6
    A poker hand that contains two cards of identical rank, which cannot also count as a better hand.
  7. 7
    A score of zero runs (a duck) in both innings of a two-innings match.
  8. 8
    A double play, two outs recorded in one play.
  9. 9
    A doubleheader, two games played on the same day between the same teams.
  10. 10
    A boat for two sweep rowers.
  11. 11
    A pair of breasts.
  12. 12
    A pair of testicles.
  13. 13
    The exclusion of one member of a parliamentary party from a vote, if a member of the other party is absent for important personal reasons.
  14. 14
    Two members of opposite parties or opinion, as in a parliamentary body, who mutually agree not to vote on a given question, or on issues of a party nature during a specified time.
  15. 15
    A number of things resembling one another, or belonging together; a set.
  16. 16
    In a mechanism, two elements, or bodies, which are so applied to each other as to mutually constrain relative motion; named in accordance with the motion it permits, as in turning pair, sliding pair, twisting pair.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ting, ting, ting! went the bell again. Every body sat down; the curtain shook, rose sufficiently high to display several pair of yellow boots paddling about, and there it remained.
  2. Day after day, with the stamp and shuffle of sixty pair of bare feet behind me, each pair under a 60-lb. load.

Etymology

From Middle English paire, from Old French paire, from Latin paria (“equals”), neuter plural of par (“pair”). Related to pār (“equal”, adjective). Compare Saterland Frisian Poor (“pair”), West Frisian pear (“pair”), Dutch paar (“pair”), German Paar (“pair”), Italian paio (“pair”)

Synonyms

duodyadcouplebracetwosomedupletduo

This word in other languages

par(Español)paire(Français)Paar(Deutsch)par(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apir
  • pairr
  • piar
  • ppair

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pair - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

apir2pairr1piar2ppair1
Edit distance from "pair"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pair"?
"pair" is spelled P-A-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is /pɛə/.
What does "pair" mean?
As a noun, "pair" means: Two alike or identical things taken together; often followed by of.
What words are commonly confused with "pair"?
"pair" is commonly confused with "PR", "pi", "per". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pair"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pair" is /pɛə/. 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 "pair"?
From Middle English paire, from Old French paire, from Latin paria (“equals”), neuter plural of par (“pair”). Related to pār (“equal”, adjective). Compare Saterland Frisian Poor (“pair”), West Frisian pear (“pair”), Dutch paar (“pair”), German Paa... 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 "pair", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mail#1,952kick#1,950fuel#1,942flat#1,941

What to do next

You've looked up "pair". Here's where to go from here.

  • "pair" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "PR". View pair
  • 4 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,955 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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