paparazzo

/ˌpæ.pəˈɹæ.tsəʊ/

//ˌpæ.pəˈɹæ.tsəʊ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“paparazzo” is uncommon English (frequency #83,598 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#83,598
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A freelance photographer who sells photographs of celebrities to the media, especially one who pursues celebrities and attempts to obtain candid photographs.

Corpus desk

Index EN-paparazzo · paparazzo · English

paparazzo · rank #83,598 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #83,598
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH panton

Nearest frequency peer: panton (-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 “paparazzo”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for paparazzo
PropertyValue
Headwordpaparazzo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpæ.pəˈɹæ.tsəʊ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#83,598
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “paparazzo” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).paparazzofalls 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: “panton” (#83,597), “panopticon” (#83,596), “Palouse” (#83,595). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “paparazzo” is #83,598. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

paparazzo is uncommon English at frequency #83,598 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpæ.pəˈɹæ.tsəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A freelance photographer who sells photographs of celebrities to the media, especially one who pursues celebrities and attempts to obtain candid photographs.".

paparazzo has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian paparazzo, from the name of Coriolano Paparazzo, a character in Federico Fellini's La dolce vita. The correct English form is paparazzo, spelled P-A-P-A-R-A-Z-Z-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A freelance photographer who sells photographs of celebrities to the media, especially one who pursues celebrities and attempts to obtain candid photographs.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. That man with the camera over there is a paparazzo.
  2. You may decide to shove the lens down the throat of your aggressor, in the style of an aggrieved celebrity seeking primal redress against a mischievous paparazzo; but then again, most ecstatic rituals are pacific in intent and you may find such violence inappropriate.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian paparazzo, from the name of Coriolano Paparazzo, a character in Federico Fellini's La dolce vita.

This word in other languages

paparazzi(Español)paparazzo(Français)Paparazzo(Deutsch)

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 "paparazzo"?
"paparazzo" is spelled P-A-P-A-R-A-Z-Z-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpæ.pəˈɹæ.tsəʊ/.
What does "paparazzo" mean?
As a noun, "paparazzo" means: A freelance photographer who sells photographs of celebrities to the media, especially one who pursues celebrities and attempts to obtain candid photographs.
How do you pronounce "paparazzo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "paparazzo" is /ˌpæ.pəˈɹæ.tsəʊ/. 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 "paparazzo"?
Borrowed from Italian paparazzo, from the name of Coriolano Paparazzo, a character in Federico Fellini's La dolce vita. 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 "paparazzo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

parsimony#83,603pedagogic#83,608ouroboros#83,584peppering#83,612

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list