pectoral
/ˈpɛk.tə.ɹəl/
"pectoral" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pectoral” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #32,531 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #32,531
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or pertaining to the breast, or chest.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pectoral |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈpɛk.tə.ɹəl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #32,531 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pectoral” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pectoral is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɛk.tə.ɹəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #32,531 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for pectoral, with forms such as "epctoral", "pcetoral", and "pecctoral". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "pictorial", "pastoral", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: All senses are ultimately from Latin pectorālis, but some may have come through Old French and Middle English. The correct English form is pectoral, spelled P-E-C-T-O-R-A-L.
Definition
- 1Of or pertaining to the breast, or chest.
- 2Relating to, or good for, diseases of the chest or lungs.
- 3Having the breast conspicuously colored.
Etymology
All senses are ultimately from Latin pectorālis, but some may have come through Old French and Middle English.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: epctoral,pcetoral,pecctoral,pecotral,pectoarl,pectorall,pectorla,pectorral,pectroal,pecttoral,petcoral,ppectoral
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pectoral - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "pectoral"?
What does "pectoral" mean?
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Using “pectoral”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-E-C-T-O-R-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɛk.tə.ɹəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “pictorial” - see the side-by-side comparison. pectoral vs pictorial
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.