plea
/pliː/noun, verb
plea is spelled P-L-E-A: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 8.9 times per million words in written English, the 7,672nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, plea means “An appeal, petition, urgent prayer or entreaty” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of plea is pleas.
How many letters and syllables are in plea?
| Letters | 4: P-L-E-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.9 times per million words; the 7,672nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is plea?
Plea appears 8.9 times per million words in written English, the 7,672nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce plea?
- /pliː/
Plea has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-plea.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with plea?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as plea.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: pale, leap, peal.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of plea
- pleas plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pleaing participle, present
- pleaed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does plea mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An appeal, petition, urgent prayer or entreaty.
a plea for mercy
- 2
An excuse; an apology.
- 3
That which is alleged or pleaded, in defense or in justification.
- 4
That which is alleged by a party in support of his cause.
- 5
An allegation of fact in a cause, as distinguished from a demurrer.
- 6
The defendant’s answer to the plaintiff’s declaration and demand.
- 7
A cause in court; a lawsuit; as, the Court of Common Pleas.
they or any three of them shall be a Court and have cognizance of pleas real, personal, and mixed.
verb
- 1
ScotlandTo plead; to argue.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Plea in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | supplication, appel |
| German | Ersuchen, Flehen, Bitte, Appell , Entschuldigung, Verteidigung |
| Portuguese | súplica, apelo, rogo , desculpa |
| Spanish | alegato, petición, ruego , justificación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does plea come from?
From Middle English ple, from Old French plait, plaid, from Medieval Latin placitum (“a decree, sentence, suit, plea, etc., Latin an opinion, determination, prescription, order; literally, that which is pleasing, pleasure”), neuter of placitus, past participle of placere (“to please”). Cognate with Spanish pleito (“lawsuit, suit”). Doublet of placit. See also please, pleasure.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).