pawn

/ˈpɔːn/

//ˈpɔːn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“pawn” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,379. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,379
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pawn · pawn · English

pawn · rank #14,379 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,379
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pastry

Nearest frequency peer: pastry (-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 “pawn”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pawn” 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).

pawn vs PW
0% similar
pawn vs pay
50% similar
pawn vs pen
50% similar

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

Key facts for pawn
PropertyValue
Headwordpawn
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɔːn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#14,379
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pawn”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).pawnlands 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 “pastry” (#14,378), “pediatric” (#14,380), “persist” (#14,381). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pawn” is #14,379. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around pawn (IPA /ˈpɔːn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,379 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for pawn, with forms such as "apwn", "panw", and "pawnn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PW", "pay", "pen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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, paw… The correct English form is pawn, spelled P-A-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge.
  2. 2
    An instance of pawning something.
  3. 3
    An item given as security on a loan, or as a pledge.
  4. 4
    A pawnshop; pawnbroker.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. All our jewellery was in pawn by this stage.
  2. Redeem from broking pawn the blemish'd crown.

Etymology

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”).

Synonyms

pawn

This word in other languages

empeño(Español)prêt sur gage(Français)Pfand(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apwn
  • panw
  • pawnn
  • pawwn
  • ppawn
  • pwan

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

apwn2panw2pawnn1pawwn1ppawn1pwan2
Edit distance from "pawn"

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 "pawn"?
"pawn" is spelled P-A-W-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɔːn/.
What does "pawn" mean?
As a noun, "pawn" means: The state of being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge.
What words are commonly confused with "pawn"?
"pawn" is commonly confused with "PW", "pay", "pen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pawn"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pawn" is /ˈpɔːn/. 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 "pawn"?
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, p... 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 "pawn", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

numb#14,373reap#14,394Mali#14,362lite#14,353

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

quota6 variantssalsa6 variantstidy6 variantsweave6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list