pedal
/ˈpɛdəl/noun, verb, adjective
pedal is spelled P-E-D-A-L: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.4 times per million words in written English, the 12,216th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “pedal vs petal” about 590 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, pedal means “A lever operated by one's foot that is used to control or power a machine or mechanism, such as a bicycle or piano” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pedal is pedals.
How many letters and syllables are in pedal?
| Letters | 5: P-E-D-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.4 times per million words; the 12,216th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pedal?
Pedal appears 4.4 times per million words in written English, the 12,216th 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 pedal?
- /ˈpɛdəl/
- /ˈpiːdəl/
Pedal 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-pedal_(noun,_verb).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pedal_(adj).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pedal
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: peddle (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: pedalling.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with pedal?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as pedal.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: plead, paled, padel.
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 pedal
- pedals plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pedaling US, participle, present
- pedalling UK, participle, present
- pedaled US, participle, past
- pedalled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pedal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A lever operated by one's foot that is used to control or power a machine or mechanism, such as a bicycle or piano.
There are three pedals on manual cars, two on automatics.
- 2
an orthopedic structure or a footlike part.
- 3
An effects unit, especially one designed to be activated by being stepped on.
- 4
A stirrup.
- 5
The ranks of pipes played from the pedal-board of an organ.
A small organ commonly has only one or two ranks on the pedal.
verb
- 1
To operate a pedal attached to a wheel in a continuous circular motion.
to pedal one's loom
- 2
To operate a bicycle.
He was out of breath from pedalling up the steep hill.
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to the foot.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pedal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pédale , pédaler , pédal , -pède , -pédal |
| German | Pedal, Fußhebel , pedalieren, in die Pedale treten , Fuß- |
| Portuguese | pedal , pedalar , podal |
| Spanish | pedal , pedalear , podal |
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 pedal come from?
Borrowed from French pédale, itself borrowed from Italian pedale, from Latin pedālis. By surface analysis, ped- + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).