pestle
/ˈpɛsəl/
"pestle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pestle” is uncommon English (frequency #50,718 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #50,718
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A club-shaped, round-headed stick used in a mortar to pound, crush, rub or grind things.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pestle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɛsəl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #50,718 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pestle” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
pestle is uncommon English at frequency #50,718 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɛsəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for pestle, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pestel, pestell, from Old French pestel, from Latin pistillum, from pīnsō (“pound, beat”). Doublet of pistil and pistillum. The correct English form is pestle, spelled P-E-S-T-L-E.
Definition
- 1A club-shaped, round-headed stick used in a mortar to pound, crush, rub or grind things.
- 2A constable's or bailiff's staff; so called from its shape.
- 3The leg and leg bone of an animal, especially of a pig.
Etymology
From Middle English pestel, pestell, from Old French pestel, from Latin pistillum, from pīnsō (“pound, beat”). Doublet of pistil and pistillum.
This word in other languages
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 “pestle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-E-S-T-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɛsəl/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.