pinafore

/ˈpɪ.nəˌfɔ(ɹ)/

//ˈpɪ.nəˌfɔ(ɹ)// noun

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

"pinafore" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pinafore” is uncommon English (frequency #83,625 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#83,625
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A sleeveless dress, often similar to an apron, generally worn over other clothes, and most often worn by young girls as an overdress.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pinafore · pinafore · English

pinafore · rank #83,625 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #83,625
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH photog

Nearest frequency peer: photog (-3 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pinafore”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pinafore” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026
Key facts for pinafore
PropertyValue
Headwordpinafore
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɪ.nəˌfɔ(ɹ)/
Letters8
Frequency rank#83,625
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pinafore” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pinafore is uncommon English at frequency #83,625 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɪ.nəˌfɔ(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A sleeveless dress, often similar to an apron, generally worn over other clothes, and most often worn by young girls as an overdress.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for pinafore in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Univerbation of pin + afore. The pinafore was originally pinned to the front of a dress, as it had no buttons. The correct English form is pinafore, spelled P-I-N-A-F-O-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sleeveless dress, often similar to an apron, generally worn over other clothes, and most often worn by young girls as an overdress.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. “He looks just like an angel,” said the Charity Children as they came out of the cathedral in their bright scarlet cloaks, and their clean white pinafores.
  2. She was a strangely thin girl in a dark pinafore, with a pink handkerchief tied over her hair.

Etymology

Univerbation of pin + afore. The pinafore was originally pinned to the front of a dress, as it had no buttons.

This word in other languages

tablier(Français)Trägerkleid(Deutsch)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pinafore"?
"pinafore" is spelled P-I-N-A-F-O-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɪ.nəˌfɔ(ɹ)/.
What does "pinafore" mean?
As a noun, "pinafore" means: A sleeveless dress, often similar to an apron, generally worn over other clothes, and most often worn by young girls as an overdress.
How do you pronounce "pinafore"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pinafore" is /ˈpɪ.nəˌfɔ(ɹ)/. 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 "pinafore"?
Univerbation of pin + afore. The pinafore was originally pinned to the front of a dress, as it had no buttons. 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 "pinafore", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

penalise#83,610preggers#83,640Pearland#83,607Purkinje#83,652
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list