pooh
/pu/interjection, noun, verb
pooh is spelled P-O-O-H: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an interjection, pooh means “Expressing dismissal, contempt, impatience, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pooh?
| Letters | 4: P-O-O-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 19,825th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pooh?
Pooh appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th 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 pooh?
- UK /phuː/
- UK /puː/
- US /pu/
Pooh 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)-Flame,_not_lame-pooh.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pooh
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with pooh?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pooh from its last stressed vowel (/u/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: hoop.
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 pooh
- poo
- puh
- poogh
- pugh
- poohs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- poohing participle, present
- poohed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pooh mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
interjection
- 1
Expressing dismissal, contempt, impatience, etc.
I am carelesse what the fustie World speakes of me, puh.
- 2
Expressing disgust at an unpleasant smell.
- 3
Alternative form of poo: a minced oath for 'shit'.
noun
- 1
An instance of saying "pooh".
- 2
Alternative form of poo: feces.
- 3
UKAlternative form of poo: A piece of feces; an act of defecation.
verb
- 1
To say "pooh".
- 2
To say "pooh" to.
- 3
Alternative form of poo: To defecate or dirty something with feces.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does pooh come from?
Originally onomatopoeic ("perhaps ancient" according to Online Etymology Dictionary) for a puff of air, after earlier poh and similar to later pew, phew, pho, phoo, poof. Later influenced by poop, onomatopoeic for the sound of flatulating and defecating, and by interjections of disgust similar to phew, pee-ew. Interjection for an unpleasant smell possibly linked to French puer (“to stink”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).