plume

/ˈpluːm/

//ˈpluːm// noun

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

"plume" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“plume” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,773. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,773
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.

Corpus desk

Index EN-plume · plume · English

plume · rank #22,773 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,773
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH plump

Nearest frequency peer: plump (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “plume”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “plume” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

plume vs plus
60% similar
plume vs pure
60% similar
plume vs pump
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for plume
PropertyValue
Headwordplume
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpluːm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#22,773
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “plume”

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).plumelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “plump” (#22,774), “prequel” (#22,775), “photographing” (#22,770). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “plume” is #22,773. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around plume (IPA /ˈpluːm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,773 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for plume, with forms such as "lpume", "pllume", and "plmue". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "plus", "pure", "pump", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English plum, plume (“feather; plumage”), from Anglo-Norman plum, plume f and Middle French, Old French plume f, plome (“plumage; down used for stuffing pillows, etc.; pen, quill”) (modern French plume f (“feather; pen, quill; pen nib; (fig… The correct English form is plume, spelled P-L-U-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.
  2. 2
    A cluster of feathers worn as an ornament, especially on a helmet; a hackle.
  3. 3
    A token of honour or prowess; that on which one prides oneself; a prize or reward.
  4. 4
    The vane (“flattened, web-like part”) of a feather, especially when on a quill pen or the fletching of an arrow.
  5. 5
    Ellipsis of plume moth (“a small, slender moth of the family Pterophoridae”).
  6. 6
    Things resembling a feather.
  7. 7
    Things resembling a feather.
  8. 8
    Things resembling a feather.
  9. 9
    Things resembling a feather.
  10. 10
    Things resembling a feather.
  11. 11
    Things resembling a feather.
  12. 12
    Things resembling a feather.
  13. 13
    Things resembling a feather.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonym: aigrette
  2. Under a Coronet his flowing haire / In curles on either cheek plaid, wings he wore / Of many a colourd plume ſprinkl'd with Gold, / His habit fit for ſpeed ſuccinct, and held / Before his decent ſteps a Silver wand.

Etymology

From Late Middle English plum, plume (“feather; plumage”), from Anglo-Norman plum, plume f and Middle French, Old French plume f, plome (“plumage; down used for stuffing pillows, etc.; pen, quill”) (modern French plume f (“feather; pen, quill; pen nib; (figurative) writer”)), and directly from its etymon Latin plūma f (“feather; plumage; down”) (compare Late Latin plūma f (“pen, quill”)), from Proto-Italic *plouksmā, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly; to flow; to run; to flap with hands; to splash”). The English word is a doublet of pluma.

This word in other languages

penacho(Español)plume(Français)Feder(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpume
  • pllume
  • plmue
  • pluem
  • plumme
  • pplume
  • pulme

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of plume - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

lpume2pllume1plmue2pluem2plumme1pplume1pulme2
Edit distance from "plume"

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 "plume"?
"plume" is spelled P-L-U-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpluːm/.
What does "plume" mean?
As a noun, "plume" means: A feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.
What words are commonly confused with "plume"?
"plume" is commonly confused with "plus", "pure", "pump". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "plume"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "plume" is /ˈpluːm/. 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 "plume"?
From Late Middle English plum, plume (“feather; plumage”), from Anglo-Norman plum, plume f and Middle French, Old French plume f, plome (“plumage; down used for stuffing pillows, etc.; pen, quill”) (modern French plume f (“feather; pen, quill; pen... 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 "plume", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

plump#22,774Ogden#22,756nutty#22,752shrub#22,810

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

raffle7 variantsragged7 variantsmagma7 variantslivin7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list