passbook

noun

"passbook" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“passbook” is uncommon English (frequency #88,691 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#88,691
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A customer's record of deposits and withdrawals from a savings account or current account at a bank, typically recorded in a small booklet. The bank keeps its own record, which is final in any disp...

Corpus desk

Index EN-passbook · passbook · English

passbook · rank #88,691 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #88,691
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH passant

Nearest frequency peer: passant (-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 “passbook”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for passbook
PropertyValue
Headwordpassbook
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#88,691
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “passbook” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).passbookfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “passant” (#88,690), “pastured” (#88,692), “Pasay” (#88,689). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “passbook” is #88,691. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

passbook is uncommon English at frequency #88,691 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for passbook in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pass + book. The correct English form is passbook, spelled P-A-S-S-B-O-O-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A customer's record of deposits and withdrawals from a savings account or current account at a bank, typically recorded in a small booklet. The bank keeps its own record, which is final in any dispute.
  2. 2
    A book that passes between a trader and a customer, used to record credit purchases.
  3. 3
    A kind of internal passport used during apartheid to limit the movements of citizens outside of their homelands or designated areas.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Mr Campbell Swinston.—Supposing there were no stronger reason than that against the continuance of grocers' licences, could not that evil be very easily put an end to by making a single false entry in the passbook the ground for forfeiting the grocer's certificate?

Etymology

From pass + book.

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 "passbook"?
"passbook" is spelled P-A-S-S-B-O-O-K.
What does "passbook" mean?
As a noun, "passbook" means: A customer's record of deposits and withdrawals from a savings account or current account at a bank, typically recorded in a small booklet. The bank keeps its own record, which is final in any disp...
What is the origin of the word "passbook"?
From pass + book. 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 "passbook", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list