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pawn

UK /ˈpɔːn/noun, verb

pawn is spelled P-A-W-N: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pawn means “The state of being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pawn is pawns.

How many letters and syllables are in pawn?

Letters4: P-A-W-N
Syllables1
In writing3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is pawn?

Pawn appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce pawn?

  • UK /ˈpɔːn/
  • British /ˈpoːn/
  • /ˈpɔn/

Pawn has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pawn.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with pawn

Sounds like: porn (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: paan, pwn.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with pawn?

7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pawn from its last stressed vowel (/ɔn/, British pronunciation):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of pawn

  • pawns plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • pawning participle, present
  • pawned participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does pawn mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The state of being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge.

    All our jewellery was in pawn by this stage.

  2. 2

    An instance of pawning something.

  3. 3

    archaicAn item given as security on a loan, or as a pledge.

  4. 4

    rareA pawnshop; pawnbroker.

  5. 5

    The most numerous chess piece, or a similar piece in a similar game. In chess, each side starts with eight; moves are only forward, and attacks are only diagonally or en passant.

  6. 6

    A person being manipulated by another, being used to some end.

    Near-synonym: chess piece

  7. 7

    A gallery.

  8. 8

    Alternative form of paan.

verb

  1. 1

    To pledge; to stake or wager.

  2. 2

    To give as security on a loan of money; especially, to deposit (something) at a pawn shop.

  3. 3

    Alternative spelling of pwn.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Pawn in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchprêt sur gage (instance of pawning something), gage (item sold to a pawn shop), mont-de-piété ((rare) type of shop – see also pawnshop), engager, mettre au clou, mettre en gage (give as security for loan)
GermanVerpfändung (instance of pawning something), Pfand, Versatzstück (item sold to a pawn shop), Pfandleiher, Pfandhaus, Leihhaus ((rare) type of shop – see also pawnshop)
Portuguesepenhora (instance of pawning something), topa-tudo, casa de penhores ((rare) type of shop – see also pawnshop), penhorar, empenhar (give as security for loan), peão (chess piece)
Spanishempeño (instance of pawning something), empeñar (give as security for loan), peón (chess piece)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does pawn come from?

From Middle English paun, pawyn, pawnd, from Old French pan, pant (“pledge for a payment”), from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *pand (“deposit, security, pledge”), further origin uncertain. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Pound (“deposit, pledge, pawn”), West Frisian pân (“pawn”), Dutch pand (“pledge, pawn”), German Low German Pand (“deposit, pledge, pawn”), German Pfand (“deposit, pledge, pawn”), Swedish pant (“pledge, pawn”), Faroese pantur (“security, lien”), Icelandic pantur (“pledge, security, pawn”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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