party

/ˈpɑː.ti/

//ˈpɑː.ti// noun

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

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

The verdict

“party” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #308 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#308
frequency rank, English
5
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person or group of people constituting one side in a legal proceeding, such as in a legal action or a contract.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

party vs pay
60% similar
party vs pat
60% similar
party vs pry
60% similar

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

Key facts for party
PropertyValue
Headwordparty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɑː.ti/
Letters5
Frequency rank#308
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “party” 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). party 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 party is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɑː.ti/. Corpus data places it at rank #308 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 17 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for party, with forms such as "aprty", "parrty", and "partty". 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, "pay", "pat", "pry", 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 party, partye, partie, from Anglo-Norman partie, from Old French partie (“side, part; portion, share; separation, division”, literally “that which is divided”), noun use of feminine of past participle of Old French partir (“to divide, se… The correct English form is party, spelled P-A-R-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person or group of people constituting one side in a legal proceeding, such as in a legal action or a contract.
  2. 2
    A person; an individual.
  3. 3
    A person; an individual.
  4. 4
    A group of people forming one side in a given dispute, contest, etc., or united in maintaining a cause, policy, or opinion in opposition to others; a faction.
  5. 5
    A group of people forming one side in a given dispute, contest, etc., or united in maintaining a cause, policy, or opinion in opposition to others; a faction.
  6. 6
    A group of people forming one side in a given dispute, contest, etc., or united in maintaining a cause, policy, or opinion in opposition to others; a faction.
  7. 7
    A group of people forming one side in a given dispute, contest, etc., or united in maintaining a cause, policy, or opinion in opposition to others; a faction.
  8. 8
    A group of people forming one side in a given dispute, contest, etc., or united in maintaining a cause, policy, or opinion in opposition to others; a faction.
  9. 9
    A group of people forming one side in a given dispute, contest, etc., or united in maintaining a cause, policy, or opinion in opposition to others; a faction.
  10. 10
    A detachment of troops selected for a particular service or duty.
  11. 11
    A group of people gathered together, especially temporarily, for a specific purpose such as travel or sport.
  12. 12
    A group of people gathered together, especially temporarily, for a specific purpose such as travel or sport.
  13. 13
    A group of people gathered together, especially temporarily, for a specific purpose such as travel or sport.
  14. 14
    A small group of birds or mammals.
  15. 15
    A part or portion.
  16. 16
    A prospective partner or an offer of marriage.
  17. 17
    A decision, resolution, agreement.

Etymology

From Middle English party, partye, partie, from Anglo-Norman partie, from Old French partie (“side, part; portion, share; separation, division”, literally “that which is divided”), noun use of feminine of past participle of Old French partir (“to divide, separate”), from Latin partire (“to share, part, distribute, divide”), from pars (“a part, piece, a share”); see also part. First attested in c. 1300. Doublet of partita. The sense of communist party of a communist state derives Russian партия (partija), short for Коммунистическая партия (Kommunističeskaja partija).

Synonyms

bashdoraveblowoutgalaget-togetherknees-uppartaypartyshindigshivoo

This word in other languages

participante(Español)partie(Français)Partei(Deutsch)parte(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aprty,parrty,partty,partyy,paryt,patry,pparty,praty

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of party - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

aprty2parrty1partty1partyy1paryt2patry2pparty1praty2
Edit distance from "party"

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 "party"?
"party" is spelled P-A-R-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɑː.ti/.
What does "party" mean?
As a noun, "party" means: A person or group of people constituting one side in a legal proceeding, such as in a legal action or a contract.
What words are commonly confused with "party"?
"party" is commonly confused with "pay", "pat", "pry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "party"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "party" is /ˈpɑː.ti/. 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 "party"?
From Middle English party, partye, partie, from Anglo-Norman partie, from Old French partie (“side, part; portion, share; separation, division”, literally “that which is divided”), noun use of feminine of past participle of Old French partir (“to ... 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 “party”

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

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