Portsmouth

name

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

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

The verdict

“Portsmouth” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,039. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,039
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A city, unitary authority, and borough of Hampshire, in southern England.

Key facts for Portsmouth
PropertyValue
HeadwordPortsmouth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters10
Frequency rank#13,039
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Portsmouth” 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). Portsmouth lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around Portsmouth, aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #13,039 among 46,516 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for Portsmouth, with forms such as "oprtsmouth", "porrtsmouth", and "porstmouth". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Portesmuða, from Old English Portesmuða. The correct English form is Portsmouth, spelled P-O-R-T-S-M-O-U-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A city, unitary authority, and borough of Hampshire, in southern England.
  2. 2
    A village in Todmorden parish, Calderdale borough, West Yorkshire, England, on the border with Lancashire (OS grid ref SD9026).
  3. 3
    A neighbourhood of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
  4. 4
    A town in Saint John parish, Dominica.
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States:
  6. 6
    A number of places in the United States:
  7. 7
    A number of places in the United States:
  8. 8
    A number of places in the United States:
  9. 9
    A number of places in the United States:
  10. 10
    A number of places in the United States:
  11. 11
    A number of places in the United States:
  12. 12
    A number of places in the United States:
  13. 13
    An English earldom

Etymology

From Middle English Portesmuða, from Old English Portesmuða.

Synonyms

Pompey

This word in other languages

Portsmouth(Français)Portsmouth(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oprtsmouth
  • porrtsmouth
  • porstmouth
  • portmsouth
  • portsmmouth
  • portsmotuh
  • portsmouht
  • portsmouthh
  • portsmoutth
  • portsmuoth
  • portsomuth
  • portssmouth
  • porttsmouth
  • potrsmouth
  • pportsmouth
  • protsmouth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Portsmouth - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

oprtsmouth2porrtsmouth1porstmouth2portmsouth2portsmmouth1portsmotuh2portsmouht2portsmouthh1
Edit distance from "Portsmouth"

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 "Portsmouth"?
"Portsmouth" is spelled P-O-R-T-S-M-O-U-T-H.
What does "Portsmouth" mean?
As a proper noun, "Portsmouth" means: A city, unitary authority, and borough of Hampshire, in southern England.
What are common misspellings of "Portsmouth"?
Common misspellings include "oprtsmouth", "porrtsmouth", "porstmouth", "portmsouth", "portsmmouth". The correct spelling is "Portsmouth".
What is the origin of the word "Portsmouth"?
From Middle English Portesmuða, from Old English Portesmuða. 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 “Portsmouth”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-O-R-T-S-M-O-U-T-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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