pirouette

/ˌpɪ.ɹʊˈɛt/

//ˌpɪ.ɹʊˈɛt// noun

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

"pirouette" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pirouette” is uncommon English (frequency #77,092 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,092
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pirouette · pirouette · English

pirouette · rank #77,092 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #77,092
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pietermaritzb…

Nearest frequency peer: Pietermaritzburg (-2 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 “pirouette”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “pirouette” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pirouette
PropertyValue
Headwordpirouette
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpɪ.ɹʊˈɛt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#77,092
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pirouette” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).pirouettefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Pietermaritzburg” (#77,090), “Phrygian” (#77,088), “phrenology” (#77,087). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pirouette” is #77,092. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pirouette is uncommon English at frequency #77,092 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpɪ.ɹʊˈɛt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for pirouette, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French pirouette, see there for more; attested since 1706. The correct English form is pirouette, spelled P-I-R-O-U-E-T-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet.
  2. 2
    The whirling about of a horse.
  3. 3
    A wooden mouthpiece assembly or lip rest used in some European double-reed instruments.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […]like what?—like the most beautiful pirouette by [Marie] Taglioni, let us say.
  2. But the Emperor’s friend covered himself with glory, for he danced everything, whether he knew it or not, and introduced impromptu pirouettes when the figures bewildered him..

Etymology

Borrowed from French pirouette, see there for more; attested since 1706.

This word in other languages

pirueta(Español)pirouette(Français)Pirouette(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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pirouette"?
"pirouette" is spelled P-I-R-O-U-E-T-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpɪ.ɹʊˈɛt/.
What does "pirouette" mean?
As a noun, "pirouette" means: A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet.
How do you pronounce "pirouette"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pirouette" is /ˌpɪ.ɹʊˈɛt/. 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 "pirouette"?
Borrowed from French pirouette, see there for more; attested since 1706. 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 "pirouette", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

phalanges#77,085parroting#77,069quizzical#77,119readymade#77,127

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list