pastime

/ˈpæs.taɪm/

//ˈpæs.taɪm// noun

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

"pastime" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pastime” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,516. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,516
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Something which amuses, and serves to make time pass agreeably.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pastime · pastime · English

pastime · rank #25,516 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,516
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH parable

Nearest frequency peer: parable (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “pastime”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “pastime” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

pastime vs pasture
71% similar
pastime vs pasting
71% similar
pastime vs playtime
75% similar

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

Key facts for pastime
PropertyValue
Headwordpastime
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpæs.taɪm/
Letters7
Frequency rank#25,516
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pastime”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pastimelands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “parable” (#25,515), “patchwork” (#25,517), “pao” (#25,514). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pastime” is #25,516. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around pastime (IPA /ˈpæs.taɪm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,516 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Something which amuses, and serves to make time pass agreeably.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for pastime, with forms such as "apstime", "pasitme", and "passtime". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "pasture", "pasting", "playtime", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier passtime, pass-time, from Middle English passe tyme, passetyme, calque of Middle French passetemps. The correct English form is pastime, spelled P-A-S-T-I-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Something which amuses, and serves to make time pass agreeably.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Chatting is a pleasant pastime.
  2. Hunting and fishing, the most important employments of mankind in the rude state of society, become in its advanced state their most agreeable amusements, and they pursue for pleasure what they once followed from necessity. In the advanced state of society, therefore, they are all very poor people who follow as a trade what other people pursue as a pastime.

Etymology

From earlier passtime, pass-time, from Middle English passe tyme, passetyme, calque of Middle French passetemps.

This word in other languages

pasatiempo(Español)passe-temps(Français)Zeitvertreib(Deutsch)passatempo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apstime
  • pasitme
  • passtime
  • pastiem
  • pastimme
  • pastmie
  • pasttime
  • patsime
  • ppastime
  • psatime

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

apstime2pasitme2passtime1pastiem2pastimme1pastmie2pasttime1patsime2
Edit distance from "pastime"

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 "pastime"?
"pastime" is spelled P-A-S-T-I-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpæs.taɪm/.
What does "pastime" mean?
As a noun, "pastime" means: Something which amuses, and serves to make time pass agreeably.
What words are commonly confused with "pastime"?
"pastime" is commonly confused with "pasture", "pasting", "playtime". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pastime"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pastime" is /ˈpæs.taɪm/. 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 "pastime"?
From earlier passtime, pass-time, from Middle English passe tyme, passetyme, calque of Middle French passetemps. 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 "pastime", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

parable#25,515Patrice#25,518Palermo#25,512pinball#25,530

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

rearing10 variantsrebuttal10 variantslexicon10 variantsLandry10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list