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PlainSpell

pet

/pɛt/noun, verb, adjective

pet is spelled P-E-T: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pet means “An animal kept as a companion or otherwise for pleasure, rather than for some practical benefit or use” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pet is pets.

How many letters and syllables are in pet?

Letters3: P-E-T
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing28 times per million words; the 3,288th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is pet?

Pet appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th 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 pet?

  • /pɛt/
  • [pʰɛt]
  • [pʰɛʔ]

Pet has one syllable (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: En-us-pet.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with pet?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as pet.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: ept.

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 pet

  • pets plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • petting participle, present
  • petted past, participle

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does pet mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    An animal kept as a companion or otherwise for pleasure, rather than for some practical benefit or use.

    family pet, pet cat, pet dog, pet store

  2. 2

    Something kept as a companion, including inanimate objects.

    pet plant, pet rock

  3. 3

    One who is excessively loyal to a superior and receives preferential treatment.

  4. 4

    Any person or animal especially cherished and indulged; a darling.

  5. 5

    A fit of petulance, a sulk, arising from the impression that one has been offended or slighted.

  6. 6

    IrelandA term of endearment usually applied to women and children.

  7. 7

    Abbreviation of petition.

verb

  1. 1

    To stroke or fondle (an animal).

    I really love to pet cute puppies.

  2. 2

    informalTo stroke or fondle (another person) amorously.

    We started petting each other the moment we were alone.

  3. 3

    datedTo keep or treat (an animal) as a pet.

  4. 4

    datedTo treat (someone) as a pet; to fondle; to indulge.

    His daughter was petted and spoiled.

  5. 5

    archaicTo be a pet.

  6. 6

    archaicTo be peevish; to sulk.

  7. 7

    To be petulant or upset; to have a problem with.

adjective

  1. 1

    Favourite; cherished; the focus of one's (usually positive) attention.

    a pet project

  2. 2

    Kept or treated as a pet.

    pet rock

  3. 3

    obsoleteGood; ideal.

noun

as PET
  1. 1

    Initialism of polyethylene terephthalate.

  2. 2

    Acronym of positron emission tomography.

  3. 3

    Acronym of paired-end tag.

  4. 4

    Acronym of personal electronic transactor, a line of personal computers produced by Commodore International.

  5. 5

    Initialism of perineal ectopic testis (a rare congenital anomaly of the testis).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Pet in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchanimal de compagnie, animal familier, animal domestique (an animal kept as a companion), chouchou (person or animal especially cherished), caresser (fondle (an animal)), peloter (fondle (another person) amorously)
GermanHaustier, Heimtier, Stubentier, Lieblingstier (an animal kept as a companion), Liebling, Pet (one who is excessively loyal to a superior and…)
Portugueseanimal de estimação, animal de companhia, animal doméstico, pet (an animal kept as a companion), acariciar (fondle (an animal)), fazer carinho (fondle (another person) amorously)
Spanishmascota, animal de compañía, animal doméstico, animal de compaña, animal acompañante, animal acompañador (an animal kept as a companion)

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 pet come from?

Originally northern dialectal, from Scots pet (“an animal that has been tamed and is kept as a pet; a darling or favourite; a petted or spoiled child”), probably from Scottish Gaelic peata (“pet, tamed animal, spoiled child”), from Middle Irish petta, peta (“pet, lap-dog”), of uncertain origin, possibly from a pre-Indo-European substrate. Compare also peat (“pet, darling, woman”), which is likely not related. The verb is derived from the noun.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after pet