pied
/paɪd/
"pied" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pied” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,328 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #28,328
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having two or more colors, especially black and white.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pied |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /paɪd/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #28,328 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pied” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pied is 4 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /paɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,328 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for pied, with forms such as "iped", "peid", and "pide". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pin", "pit", "pig", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From archaic pie (“magpie”), from Old French pie, from Latin pica. Compare typologically Polish srokaty < sroka. The correct English form is pied, spelled P-I-E-D.
Definition
- 1Having two or more colors, especially black and white.
- 2Decorated or colored in blotches.
Etymology
From archaic pie (“magpie”), from Old French pie, from Latin pica. Compare typologically Polish srokaty < sroka.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iped,peid,pide,piedd,ppied
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pied - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “pied”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-I-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /paɪd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “pin” - see the side-by-side comparison. pied vs pin
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.