petrel
/ˈpɛt.ɹəl/noun
petrel is spelled P-E-T-R-E-L: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, petrel means “Any of various species of black, grey, or white seabirds in the order Procellariiformes” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of petrel is petrels.
How many letters and syllables are in petrel?
| Letters | 6: P-E-T-R-E-L |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 74,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 petrel?
Petrel appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,122nd 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 petrel?
- /ˈpɛt.ɹəl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-petrel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with petrel
Sounds like: petrol (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with petrel?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as petrel.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: pelter.
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 petrel
- petrels plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does petrel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various species of black, grey, or white seabirds in the order Procellariiformes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Petrel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Procellariiformes:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pétrel |
| German | Sturmvogel |
| Spanish | petrel |
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 petrel come from?
From earlier pitteral. Perhaps a diminutive of Peter, with reference to St. Peter's walking on the water (Matthew 14:29). A derivation from patter or pitter-patter has been suggested, for instance by ornithologist Elliott Ladd Coues.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).