popularize

verb

"popularize" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“popularize” is an uncommon English word, ranked #55,656 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#55,656
frequency rank, English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - American and Oxford British spelling of popularise

Key facts for popularize
PropertyValue
Headwordpopularize
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Frequency rank#55,656
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “popularize” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). popularize lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for popularize is 10 letters long, classified as a verb. Corpus data places it at rank #55,656 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "American and Oxford British spelling of popularise".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for popularize, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From popular + -ize. The correct English form is popularize, spelled P-O-P-U-L-A-R-I-Z-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    American and Oxford British spelling of popularise

Etymology

From popular + -ize.

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 "popularize"?
"popularize" is spelled P-O-P-U-L-A-R-I-Z-E.
What does "popularize" mean?
As a verb, "popularize" means: American and Oxford British spelling of popularise
What is the origin of the word "popularize"?
From popular + -ize. 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.

Using “popularize”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-O-P-U-L-A-R-I-Z-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list