ping pong
/ˈpɪŋˌpɒŋ/
"ping-pong" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ping pong” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Table tennis.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ping-pong · ping pong · English
ping pong · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ping pong |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɪŋˌpɒŋ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ping pong” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ping pong is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɪŋˌpɒŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ping pong, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Onomatopoeic. The name “ping-pong” was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. Jaques sold the rights to the “ping-pong” name in the United States to Parker Brothers. Registered in the United States in 1930, Ping-… The correct English form is ping pong, spelled P-I-N-G- -P-O-N-G.
Definition
- 1Table tennis.
- 2An instance of figuratively bouncing something or someone back and forth.
- 3The exchange of proposed amendments between the House of Commons and House of Lords, particularly at the end of a session when compromises have to be made to complete the legislative process within the limited time available.
- 4A size of photograph a little larger than a postage stamp.
- 5A small, shallow steelpan drum.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ping pong appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Our correspondent seems to hope that the unclean, playing Ping-Pong with the clean, will become unpleasantly conscious of his uncleanness and reform.
To be conscious is to be subject to just such a ping-pong of recurring nervous activities that effect muscle tone on one side and brain discharge on the other.
Etymology
Onomatopoeic. The name “ping-pong” was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. Jaques sold the rights to the “ping-pong” name in the United States to Parker Brothers. Registered in the United States in 1930, Ping-Pong (with dash) is still a registered wordmark of Parker Brothers, Inc. Contrary to a common misconception, the word does not originate from Chinese 乒乓 (pīngpāng), though there are possibilities that the coiners encountered Chinese themselves.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.