paycheck
/ˈpeɪ.t͡ʃɛk/noun
paycheck is spelled P-A-Y-C-H-E-C-K: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “pay check vs paycheck” about 10 times a month (Bing, United States). As a noun, paycheck means “A periodic payment, usually in the form of a paper check, received by an employee from an employer for work performed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of paycheck is paychecks.
How many letters and syllables are in paycheck?
| Letters | 8: P-A-Y-C-H-E-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is paycheck?
Paycheck appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th 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 paycheck?
- US /ˈpeɪ.t͡ʃɛk/
Paycheck has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-paycheck.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with paycheck
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: pay check (one word or two), pay cheque.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of paycheck
- paychecks plural
- pay check
- paycheque
- pay cheque
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does paycheck mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USA periodic payment, usually in the form of a paper check, received by an employee from an employer for work performed.
He was delighted after getting his first paycheck, but subsequently blew it all on the horses.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Paycheck in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense money received on payday as payment for work performed:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | cheque de pago, cheque salarial |
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 paycheck come from?
From pay (“wages or salary”) + check (“a means of payment”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).