PDX

name

"pdx" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“PDX” is uncommon English (frequency #54,385 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,385
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Portland, Oregon.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pdx · PDX · English

PDX · rank #54,385 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,385
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pecuniary

Nearest frequency peer: pecuniary (+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 “PDX”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for PDX
PropertyValue
HeadwordPDX
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters3
Frequency rank#54,385
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “PDX” in English

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).PDXfalls 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: “pecuniary” (#54,386), “paymaster” (#54,382), “peeler” (#54,388). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “PDX” is #54,385. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

PDX is uncommon English at frequency #54,385 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for PDX in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Portland International Airport’s IATA airport code PDX, by extension. The correct English form is PDX, spelled P-D-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    Portland, Oregon.
  2. 2
    Abbreviation of Paradox Interactive.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The first line ran along I-84 to downtown PDX (we should learn our lessons from this route, as it made NE Burnside Ave. a poor route for cars, an unsafe route for bicyclists/pedestrians[...]Maybe it could have avoided downtown PDX, if we'd have known how conveniently streetcars can move people through several developed neighborhoods[...]
  2. Launch Pad is one of the hippest, hottest galleries in PDX, a place where the artists go to check each other out.

Etymology

From Portland International Airport’s IATA airport code PDX, by extension.

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 "PDX"?
"PDX" is spelled P-D-X.
What does "PDX" mean?
As a proper noun, "PDX" means: Portland, Oregon.
What is the origin of the word "PDX"?
From Portland International Airport’s IATA airport code PDX, by extension. 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 "PDX", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list