pom

/pɒm/

//pɒm// noun

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

"pom" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pom” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #23,363) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#23,363
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An Englishman; a Briton; a person of British descent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pom · pom · English

pom · rank #23,363 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,363
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH possessive

Nearest frequency peer: possessive (+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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “pom”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “pom” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

pom vs PP
0% similar
pom vs PR
0% similar
pom vs pt
33% similar

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

Key facts for pom
PropertyValue
Headwordpom
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɒm/
Letters3
Frequency rank#23,363
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “pom”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).pomlands 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 “possessive” (#23,364), “pickled” (#23,361), “piazza” (#23,360). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pom” is #23,363. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for pom is neighbouring look-alikes ("PP", "PR", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /pɒm/. Frequency #23,363 among 4,417 “P” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for pom, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PP", "PR", "pt", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: A clipping of pomegranate. In reference to the British, first attested in Australia in 1912 as rhyming slang for immigrant with additional reference to the likelihood of sunburn turning their skin pomegranate red. As a cocktail, originally American. The correct English form is pom, spelled P-O-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    An Englishman; a Briton; a person of British descent.
  2. 2
    A cocktail containing pomegranate juice and vodka.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I could see more than mere humour in car stickers that read ‘Grow your own Dope: Plant a Pom’ ... ‘Keep Australia Beautiful: Shoot a Pom’.
  2. The prize for being Australia′s original pom goes to the enterprising pirate William Dampier, who made the first investigations ashore about 40 years after Tasman and nearly 100 years before Cook.

Etymology

A clipping of pomegranate. In reference to the British, first attested in Australia in 1912 as rhyming slang for immigrant with additional reference to the likelihood of sunburn turning their skin pomegranate red. As a cocktail, originally American.

Synonyms

Briton and Englishman

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 "pom"?
"pom" is spelled P-O-M. The IPA pronunciation is /pɒm/.
What does "pom" mean?
As a noun, "pom" means: An Englishman; a Briton; a person of British descent.
What words are commonly confused with "pom"?
"pom" is commonly confused with "PP", "PR", "pt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pom"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pom" is /pɒm/. 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 "pom"?
A clipping of pomegranate. In reference to the British, first attested in Australia in 1912 as rhyming slang for immigrant with additional reference to the likelihood of sunburn turning their skin pomegranate red. As a cocktail, originally American. 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 "pom", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ova#23,347MOR#23,337lei#23,328Koh#23,322

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list