pork

/pɔːk/

//pɔːk// noun

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

"pork" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pork” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,822 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#6,822
frequency rank, English
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The meat of a pig.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pork vs PR
0% similar
pork vs pro
50% similar
pork vs pot
50% similar

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

Key facts for pork
PropertyValue
Headwordpork
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɔːk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#6,822
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pork” 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). pork 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 pork is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɔːk/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,822 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for pork, with forms such as "oprk", "pokr", and "porkk". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PR", "pro", "pot", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pork, porc, via Anglo-Norman, from Old French porc (“swine, hog, pig; pork”), from Latin porcus (“domestic hog, pig”). Cognate with Old English fearh (“piglet”). Doublet of farrow. Compare also other West Germanic words for pigs: Ferkel,… The correct English form is pork, spelled P-O-R-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    The meat of a pig.
  2. 2
    Funding proposed or requested by a member of Congress for special interests or their constituency as opposed to the good of the country as a whole.
  3. 3
    law enforcement, those who side with criminal prosecution

Etymology

From Middle English pork, porc, via Anglo-Norman, from Old French porc (“swine, hog, pig; pork”), from Latin porcus (“domestic hog, pig”). Cognate with Old English fearh (“piglet”). Doublet of farrow. Compare also other West Germanic words for pigs: Ferkel, Ferke, and varken. Used in English since the 14th century, and as a term of abuse since the 17th century. US politics sense is related to pork barrel.

This word in other languages

cerdo(Español)porc(Français)Schweinefleisch(Deutsch)porco(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: oprk,pokr,porkk,porrk,ppork,prok

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pork - 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.

oprk2pokr2porkk1porrk1ppork1prok2
Edit distance from "pork"

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 "pork"?
"pork" is spelled P-O-R-K. The IPA pronunciation is /pɔːk/.
What does "pork" mean?
As a noun, "pork" means: The meat of a pig.
What words are commonly confused with "pork"?
"pork" is commonly confused with "PR", "pro", "pot". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pork"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pork" is /pɔːk/. 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 "pork"?
From Middle English pork, porc, via Anglo-Norman, from Old French porc (“swine, hog, pig; pork”), from Latin porcus (“domestic hog, pig”). Cognate with Old English fearh (“piglet”). Doublet of farrow. Compare also other West Germanic words for pig... 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 “pork”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-O-R-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pɔːk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “PR” - see the side-by-side comparison. pork vs PR
  • 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