pet

/pɛt/

//pɛt// noun

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

"pet" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pet” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #3,323) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#3,323
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An animal kept as a companion or otherwise for pleasure, rather than for some practical benefit or use.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pet · pet · English

pet · rank #3,323 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,323
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH penalty

Nearest frequency peer: penalty (-1 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pet”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pet” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pet vs PM
0% similar
pet vs PP
0% similar
pet vs PR
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for pet
PropertyValue
Headwordpet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɛt/
Letters3
Frequency rank#3,323
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pet” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for pet is neighbouring look-alikes ("PM", "PP", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /pɛt/. Frequency #3,323 among 4,417 “P” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for pet, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PM", "PP", "PR", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 … The correct English form is pet, spelled P-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    An animal kept as a companion or otherwise for pleasure, rather than for some practical benefit or use.
  2. 2
    Something kept as a companion, including inanimate objects (pet rock, pet plant, etc.).
  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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Papyrus: This is my brother's pet rock. He always forgets to feed it. As usual, I have to take responsibility.
  2. At first she sat silent; but that could not last: she had resolved to make a pet of her little cousin, as she would have him to be; and she commenced stroking his curls, and kissing his cheek, and offering him tea in her saucer, like a baby.

Etymology

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.

Synonyms

companion animal

This word in other languages

mascota(Español)animal de compagnie(Français)Haustier(Deutsch)pet(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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pet"?
"pet" is spelled P-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pɛt/.
What does "pet" mean?
As a noun, "pet" means: An animal kept as a companion or otherwise for pleasure, rather than for some practical benefit or use.
What words are commonly confused with "pet"?
"pet" is commonly confused with "PM", "PP", "PR". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pet"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pet" is /pɛt/. 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 "pet"?
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 pe... 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 "pet", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mac#3,313tag#3,397hip#3,237egg#3,227

What to do next

You've looked up "pet". Here's where to go from here.

  • "pet" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "PM". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #3,323 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list