pigeon

/ˈpɪ.dʒɪn/

//ˈpɪ.dʒɪn// noun

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

"pigeon" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pigeon” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,829. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,829
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One of several birds of the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pigeon · pigeon · English

pigeon · rank #12,829 · 8 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,829
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH physiology

Nearest frequency peer: physiology (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “pigeon”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “pigeon” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

pigeon vs piston
67% similar
pigeon vs pinion
67% similar
pigeon vs pigeons
86% similar

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

Key facts for pigeon
PropertyValue
Headwordpigeon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɪ.dʒɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#12,829
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pigeon”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “physiology” (#12,828), “plateau” (#12,830), “PGA” (#12,827). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pigeon” is #12,829. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around pigeon (IPA /ˈpɪ.dʒɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,829 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for pigeon, with forms such as "ipgeon", "pgieon", and "piegon". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "piston", "pinion", "pigeons", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Latin pīpiō Proto-Indo-European *-h₃onh₂der. Latin -ō Latin pipio Old French pyjonbor. Middle English pygeoun English pigeon Inherited from Middle English pygeoun, borrowed from Old French pyjon, inherited from Late Latin pīpiōnem (“chirping … The correct English form is pigeon, spelled P-I-G-E-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of several birds of the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes.
  2. 2
    The meat from this bird.
  3. 3
    A person who is a target or victim of a confidence game.
  4. 4
    A pacifist, appeaser, an isolationist, a dove.
  5. 5
    A person hired to transport film footage out of a region where transport options are limited.
  6. 6
    A weak or useless person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Kalb rushed to the airport and found a "pigeon" to take out the film: an American woman headed for London.
  2. At this point, all the commercial airports in Pakistan were closed. The only way to get film out was over land. John promptly hired me to be what was then known in the business as a "Pigeon," and installed me in a comfortable room in his hotel. […] I would then hand-carry his film out of the country, via Peshawar, the Khyber Pass, through the Kabul Gorge,…

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin pīpiō Proto-Indo-European *-h₃onh₂der. Latin -ō Latin pipio Old French pyjonbor. Middle English pygeoun English pigeon Inherited from Middle English pygeoun, borrowed from Old French pyjon, inherited from Late Latin pīpiōnem (“chirping bird”), derived from Latin pīpiāre (“to chirp”), of imitative origin. Partly displaced native English dove.

This word in other languages

paloma(Español)pigeon(Français)Taube(Deutsch)pombo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ipgeon
  • pgieon
  • piegon
  • pigeno
  • pigeonn
  • piggeon
  • pigoen
  • ppigeon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pigeon - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ipgeon2pgieon2piegon2pigeno2pigeonn1piggeon1pigoen2ppigeon1
Edit distance from "pigeon"

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 "pigeon"?
"pigeon" is spelled P-I-G-E-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɪ.dʒɪn/.
What does "pigeon" mean?
As a noun, "pigeon" means: One of several birds of the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes.
What words are commonly confused with "pigeon"?
"pigeon" is commonly confused with "piston", "pinion", "pigeons". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pigeon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pigeon" is /ˈpɪ.dʒɪn/. 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 "pigeon"?
Etymology tree Latin pīpiō Proto-Indo-European *-h₃onh₂der. Latin -ō Latin pipio Old French pyjonbor. Middle English pygeoun English pigeon Inherited from Middle English pygeoun, borrowed from Old French pyjon, inherited from Late Latin pīpiōnem (... 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 "pigeon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

payday#12,825regina#12,845rotary#12,853Rupert#12,854

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Mueller8 variantsrusty8 variantsslips8 variantsstint8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list