percolate

/ˈpɜːkəleɪt/

//ˈpɜːkəleɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"percolate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“percolate” is uncommon English (frequency #79,847 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,847
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To pass a liquid through a porous substance; to filter.

Corpus desk

Index EN-percolate · percolate · English

percolate · rank #79,847 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,847
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pesach

Nearest frequency peer: Pesach (+2 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 “percolate”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for percolate
PropertyValue
Headwordpercolate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpɜːkəleɪt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#79,847
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “percolate” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).percolatefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Pesach” (#79,849), “Pewds” (#79,851), “PFD” (#79,852). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “percolate” is #79,847. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

percolate is uncommon English at frequency #79,847 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈpɜːkəleɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

percolate has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin percōlātus, perfect passive participle of percōlō (“to filter”), itself, from per (“through”) + cōlō (“to strain”) (from cōlum (“a strainer”), of unknown origin); see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix). The correct English form is percolate, spelled P-E-R-C-O-L-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To pass a liquid through a porous substance; to filter.
  2. 2
    To drain or seep through a porous substance.
  3. 3
    To make (coffee) in a percolator.
  4. 4
    (of coffee) to be prepared by percolation; (of a coffee pot) to brew coffee in this way.
  5. 5
    To spread slowly or gradually; to slowly become noticed or realised.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Fluidextracts are liquid alcoholic preparations of uniform and definite strength, made by percolating drugs with menstrua, and concentrating a portion of the percolate […]
  2. Water percolates through sand.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin percōlātus, perfect passive participle of percōlō (“to filter”), itself, from per (“through”) + cōlō (“to strain”) (from cōlum (“a strainer”), of unknown origin); see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix).

This word in other languages

filtrer(Français)filtern(Deutsch)coar(Português)

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 "percolate"?
"percolate" is spelled P-E-R-C-O-L-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɜːkəleɪt/.
What does "percolate" mean?
As a verb, "percolate" means: To pass a liquid through a porous substance; to filter.
How do you pronounce "percolate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "percolate" is /ˈpɜːkəleɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "percolate"?
Borrowed from Latin percōlātus, perfect passive participle of percōlō (“to filter”), itself, from per (“through”) + cōlō (“to strain”) (from cōlum (“a strainer”), of unknown origin); see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix). 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 "percolate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

opposable#79,821quibbling#79,895Narasimha#79,780mutagenic#79,777

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list