pend
/pɛnd/
"pend" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pend” is an uncommon English word, ranked #82,651 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #82,651
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To hang down; to cause something to hang down
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pend |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /pɛnd/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #82,651 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pend” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pend is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɛnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #82,651 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.
Zero misspellings are on record for pend in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French pendre (“to hang”), from Late Latin pendĕre, from Latin pendēre. The correct English form is pend, spelled P-E-N-D.
Definition
- 1To hang down; to cause something to hang down
- 2To arch over (something); to vault.
- 3To hang in reliance on; to depend (on or upon); to be contingent on.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French pendre (“to hang”), from Late Latin pendĕre, from Latin pendēre.
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
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Using “pend”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-E-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɛnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.