possum
/ˈpɒsəm/noun, verb
possum is spelled P-O-S-S-U-M: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,168th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “opossum vs possum” about 40,500 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, possum means “A marsupial of several families of the order Diprotodontia, found in Australia and neighboring islands” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of possum is possums.
How many letters and syllables are in possum?
| Letters | 6: P-O-S-S-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,168th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is possum?
Possum appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,168th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce possum?
- /ˈpɒsəm/
Possum has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-possum.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with possum
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of possum
- possums plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- possuming participle, present
- possumed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does possum mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A marsupial of several families of the order Diprotodontia, found in Australia and neighboring islands.
- 2
USAn opossum, a marsupial of the family Didelphidae of the Americas.
verb
- 1
To play possum; to feign sleep, illness, or death.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Possum in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense marsupial of the order Diprotodontia:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | possum |
| German | Possum |
| Spanish | pósum |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does possum come from?
Derived from opossum by apheresis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).