portable

/ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbəl/

//ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbəl// adj

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

"portable" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“portable” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,484. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,484
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Able to be carried or easily moved.

Corpus desk

Index EN-portable · portable · English

portable · rank #7,484 · 13 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,484
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH poker

Nearest frequency peer: poker (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “portable”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “portable” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

portable vs portal
75% similar
portable vs portage
75% similar
portable vs potable
88% similar

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

Key facts for portable
PropertyValue
Headwordportable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbəl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#7,484
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “portable”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).portablelands 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 “poker” (#7,483), “priced” (#7,485), “po” (#7,482). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “portable” is #7,484. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around portable (IPA /ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #7,484 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for portable, with forms such as "oprtable", "poratble", and "porrtable". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "portal", "portage", "potable", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English portable, from Middle French portable and Latin portābilis. By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -able. The correct English form is portable, spelled P-O-R-T-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Able to be carried or easily moved.
  2. 2
    Able to be transferred from one organization to another.
  3. 3
    Of software: able to be run on multiple hardware or operating systems.
  4. 4
    Of a program: able to be copied directly from one machine to another without the use of an installer.
  5. 5
    Bearable, endurable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a portable pension plan
  2. Even though Houston’s moment was already fading by the late 2000s, the city’s hip-hop culture proved to be endlessly portable and disseminatable.

Etymology

From Middle English portable, from Middle French portable and Latin portābilis. By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -able.

Synonyms

loosemobilemovableportableshiftabletransportable

Antonyms

anchoredfixedimmobileimmotileimmovablepermanentstationary

This word in other languages

portátil(Español)portable(Français)portabel(Deutsch)portátil(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oprtable
  • poratble
  • porrtable
  • portabble
  • portabel
  • portablle
  • portalbe
  • portbale
  • portible
  • porttable
  • potrable
  • pportable
  • protable

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

oprtable2poratble2porrtable1portabble1portabel2portablle1portalbe2portbale2
Edit distance from "portable"

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 "portable"?
"portable" is spelled P-O-R-T-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbəl/.
What does "portable" mean?
As an adjective, "portable" means: Able to be carried or easily moved.
What words are commonly confused with "portable"?
"portable" is commonly confused with "portal", "portage", "potable". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "portable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "portable" is /ˈpɔː(ɹ)təbəl/. 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 "portable"?
From Middle English portable, from Middle French portable and Latin portābilis. By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -able. 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 "portable", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

randomly#7,487searched#7,499shouting#7,501Hispanic#7,461

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

realizing13 variantsrevealing13 variantssexuality13 variantsinclusive13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list