pickpocket

/ˈpɪkpɒkɪt/

//ˈpɪkpɒkɪt// noun

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

"pickpocket" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pickpocket” is uncommon English (frequency #53,168 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,168
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who steals from the pocket of a passerby, usually by sleight of hand.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pickpocket · pickpocket · English

pickpocket · rank #53,168 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,168
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pineal

Nearest frequency peer: pineal (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “pickpocket”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pickpocket
PropertyValue
Headwordpickpocket
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɪkpɒkɪt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#53,168
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pickpocket” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).pickpocketfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “pineal” (#53,169), “pica” (#53,166), “planking” (#53,170). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pickpocket” is #53,168. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pickpocket is uncommon English at frequency #53,168 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɪkpɒkɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One who steals from the pocket of a passerby, usually by sleight of hand.".

pickpocket has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pick + pocket. The correct English form is pickpocket, spelled P-I-C-K-P-O-C-K-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who steals from the pocket of a passerby, usually by sleight of hand.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Old men, young men, and boys, stalwart burglars and highway robbers, slept side by side with wizened pickpockets or cunning-featured area-sneaks.
  2. For several days, Mr. Sammler returning on the customary bus late afternoons from the Forty-second Street Library had been watching a pickpocket at work […] Mr. Sammler if he had not been a tall straphanger would not with his one good eye have seen these things happening.

Etymology

From pick + pocket.

Synonyms

cutpursedipdipperfoistfootpadgonophnipnipperpickpocketpickpocketerpickpurseprig

This word in other languages

carterista(Español)pickpocket(Français)Taschendieb(Deutsch)carteirista(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 "pickpocket"?
"pickpocket" is spelled P-I-C-K-P-O-C-K-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɪkpɒkɪt/.
What does "pickpocket" mean?
As a noun, "pickpocket" means: One who steals from the pocket of a passerby, usually by sleight of hand.
How do you pronounce "pickpocket"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pickpocket" is /ˈpɪkpɒkɪt/. 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 "pickpocket"?
From pick + pocket. 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 "pickpocket", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

playmaking#53,171overactive#53,152ostensible#53,151numismatic#53,144

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list