postlude
/ˈpəʊstluːd/
"postlude" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“postlude” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The final part of a piece; especially music played (normally on the organ) at the end of a church service.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | postlude |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpəʊstluːd/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “postlude” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for postlude is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpəʊstluːd/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for postlude in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From post- + Latin lūdus (“play”) (modelled on prelude). The correct English form is postlude, spelled P-O-S-T-L-U-D-E.
Definition
- 1The final part of a piece; especially music played (normally on the organ) at the end of a church service.
- 2A concluding passage of text or speech; an epilogue or afterword.
Etymology
From post- + Latin lūdus (“play”) (modelled on prelude).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “postlude”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-O-S-T-L-U-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpəʊstluːd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.