pilfer
/ˈpɪl.fə/
"pilfer" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pilfer” is uncommon English (frequency #88,713 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #88,713
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To steal in small quantities, or articles of small value; to practise petty theft.
Corpus desk
Index EN-pilfer · pilfer · English
pilfer · rank #88,713 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #88,713
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH pinta
Nearest frequency peer: pinta (+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 “pilfer”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- phosphodies…
phosphodiesterase
11,291 corpus weight
- photoelectr…
photoelectron
11,290 corpus weight
- pilfer
pilfer
11,288 corpus weight
- pinta
pinta
11,287 corpus weight
- plagioclase
plagioclase
11,286 corpus weight
- plasticine
plasticine
11,285 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “pilfer” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pilfer |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈpɪl.fə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #88,713 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “pilfer” in English
Rare enough to double-check
pilfer is uncommon English at frequency #88,713 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈpɪl.fə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To steal in small quantities, or articles of small value; to practise petty theft.".
pilfer doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier pilfre, from Middle English pilfre (“booty”), from Old French pelfre (“plunder, booty, spoils”), of unknown origin. Compare pelf. The correct English form is pilfer, spelled P-I-L-F-E-R.
Definition
- 1To steal in small quantities, or articles of small value; to practise petty theft.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pilfer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
pilfer goods
pilfer from a store
Etymology
From earlier pilfre, from Middle English pilfre (“booty”), from Old French pelfre (“plunder, booty, spoils”), of unknown origin. Compare pelf.
This word in other languages
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pilfer", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).