podcast
/ˈpɒdˌkɑːst/
"podcast" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“podcast” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,615 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #5,615
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on computers or portable devices such as mo...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | podcast |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɒdˌkɑːst/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #5,615 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “podcast” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for podcast is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɒdˌkɑːst/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,615 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for podcast, with forms such as "opdcast", "pdocast", and "pocdast". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "podcasts", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree ▲ Proto-Indo-European *h₁en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Italic *ənter Latin inter Latin inter-bor. English inter- Proto-Indo-European *neHd- Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Germanic… The correct English form is podcast, spelled P-O-D-C-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on computers or portable devices such as mobile phones.
- 2An individual episode of such a program.
Etymology
Etymology tree ▲ Proto-Indo-European *h₁en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Italic *ənter Latin inter Latin inter-bor. English inter- Proto-Indo-European *neHd- Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Germanic *natją Proto-West Germanic *nati Old English nett Middle English net English net Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom Proto-Germanic *werką Proto-West Germanic *werk Old English weorc Middle English werk English work English network English internetwork English Internet English i- English pod English iPod Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.? Proto-Germanic *braidaz Proto-West Germanic *braid Old English brād Middle English brod English broad Proto-Germanic *kas- Proto-Germanic *kastōną Old Norse kastabor. Middle English casten English cast English broadcast blend English podcast Blend of iPod (“portable music player made by Apple”) + broadcast, probably coined by the British technologist and broadcaster Ben Hammersley (born 1976) who proposed the word podcasting in 2004.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: opdcast,pdocast,pocdast,podacst,podcasst,podcastt,podcats,podccast,podcsat,poddcast,ppodcast
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of podcast - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "podcast"?
What does "podcast" mean?
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Using “podcast”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-O-D-C-A-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɒdˌkɑːst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “podcasts” - see the side-by-side comparison. podcast vs podcasts
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.