pooh-pooh
/ˌpuːˈpuː/
"pooh-pooh" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pooh-pooh” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To dismiss idly with contempt or derision; to diminish.
Corpus desk
Index EN-pooh-pooh · pooh-pooh · English
pooh-pooh · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pooh-pooh |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˌpuːˈpuː/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “pooh-pooh” in English
Rare enough to double-check
pooh-pooh is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌpuːˈpuː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To dismiss idly with contempt or derision; to diminish.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for pooh-pooh, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From a reduplication of pooh (“an utterance of the word pooh”). The correct English form is pooh-pooh, spelled P-O-O-H---P-O-O-H.
Definition
- 1To dismiss idly with contempt or derision; to diminish.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pooh-pooh appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[W]hen he went abroad with Dombey and was chasing that vagabond up and down France, J. Bagstock would have pooh-pooh'd you—would have pooh-pooh'd you, Sir, by the Lord!
In England, until very late days, we have been accustomed rather to pooh-pooh national Orders, to vote ribbons and crosses tinsel gewgaws, foolish foreign ornaments, and so forth.
Etymology
From a reduplication of pooh (“an utterance of the word pooh”).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.