posed

/pəʊzd/

//pəʊzd// verb

"posed" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“posed” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,510 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#9,510
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - simple past and past participle of pose

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

posed vs post
60% similar
posed vs PTSD
0% similar
posed vs posh
60% similar

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

Key facts for posed
PropertyValue
Headwordposed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pəʊzd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,510
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “posed” 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). posed 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 posed is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pəʊzd/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,510 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for posed, with forms such as "opsed", "poesd", and "posde". 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, "post", "PTSD", "posh", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is posed, spelled P-O-S-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of pose
  2. 2
    Alternative spelling of supposed.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: opsed,poesd,posde,posedd,possed,pposed,psoed

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

opsed2poesd2posde2posedd1possed1pposed1psoed2
Edit distance from "posed"

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 "posed"?
"posed" is spelled P-O-S-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /pəʊzd/.
What does "posed" mean?
As a verb, "posed" means: simple past and past participle of pose
What words are commonly confused with "posed"?
"posed" is commonly confused with "post", "PTSD", "posh". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "posed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "posed" is /pəʊzd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "posed" come from?
"posed" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “posed”

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

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