part

/pɑːt/

//pɑːt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“part” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #162 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#162
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A portion; a component.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

part vs PR
0% similar
part vs pt
50% similar
part vs put
50% similar

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

Key facts for part
PropertyValue
Headwordpart
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɑːt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#162
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “part” 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). part 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 part is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɑːt/. Corpus data places it at rank #162 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 18 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for part, with forms such as "aprt", "parrt", and "partt". 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, "PR", "pt", "put", 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 part, from Old English part (“part”) and Old French part (“part”); both from Latin partem, accusative of pars (“piece, portion, share, side, party, faction, role, character, lot, fate, task, lesson, part, member”), from Proto-Indo-Europe… The correct English form is part, spelled P-A-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A portion; a component.
  2. 2
    A portion; a component.
  3. 3
    A portion; a component.
  4. 4
    A portion; a component.
  5. 5
    A portion; a component.
  6. 6
    A portion; a component.
  7. 7
    A portion; a component.
  8. 8
    A portion; a component.
  9. 9
    A portion; a component.
  10. 10
    A portion; a component.
  11. 11
    A portion; a component.
  12. 12
    Duty; responsibility.
  13. 13
    Duty; responsibility.
  14. 14
    Duty; responsibility.
  15. 15
    Duty; responsibility.
  16. 16
    The dividing line formed by combing the hair in different directions.
  17. 17
    In the Hebrew lunisolar calendar, a unit of time equivalent to 3⅓ seconds.
  18. 18
    A constituent of character or capacity; quality; faculty; talent; usually in the plural with a collective sense.

Etymology

From Middle English part, from Old English part (“part”) and Old French part (“part”); both from Latin partem, accusative of pars (“piece, portion, share, side, party, faction, role, character, lot, fate, task, lesson, part, member”), from Proto-Indo-European *par-, *per- (“to sell, exchange”). Akin to Latin portiō (“a portion, part”), parāre (“to make ready, prepare”). Displaced Middle English del, dele (“part”) (from Old English dǣl (“part, distribution”) > Modern English deal (“portion; amount”)), Middle English dale, dole (“part, portion”) (from Old English dāl (“portion”) > Modern English dole), Middle English sliver (“part, portion”) (from Middle English sliven (“to cut, cleave”), from Old English (tō)slifan (“to split”)).

Synonyms

pieceportioncomponentelementfactionpartypositionrolepartingshedshoadshodechelekpart

This word in other languages

parte(Español)partie(Français)Teil(Deutsch)parte(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aprt,parrt,partt,patr,ppart

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of part - 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.

aprt2parrt1partt1patr2ppart1
Edit distance from "part"

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 "part"?
"part" is spelled P-A-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pɑːt/.
What does "part" mean?
As a noun, "part" means: A portion; a component.
What words are commonly confused with "part"?
"part" is commonly confused with "PR", "pt", "put". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "part"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "part" is /pɑːt/. 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 "part"?
From Middle English part, from Old English part (“part”) and Old French part (“part”); both from Latin partem, accusative of pars (“piece, portion, share, side, party, faction, role, character, lot, fate, task, lesson, part, member”), from Proto-I... 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 “part”

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

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