postman

/ˈpəʊs(t)mən/

//ˈpəʊs(t)mən// noun

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

"postman" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“postman” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,536. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,536
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone who delivers the post (mail) to, and/or collects the post from, residential or commercial addresses, or from public mailboxes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-postman · postman · English

postman · rank #25,536 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,536
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Poseidon

Nearest frequency peer: Poseidon (-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 “postman”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “postman” 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).

postman vs postwar
71% similar
postman vs postal
71% similar
postman vs pitman
71% similar

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

Key facts for postman
PropertyValue
Headwordpostman
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpəʊs(t)mən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#25,536
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “postman”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).postmanlands 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 “Poseidon” (#25,535), “PPG” (#25,537), “plunder” (#25,534). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “postman” is #25,536. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around postman (IPA /ˈpəʊs(t)mən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,536 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for postman, with forms such as "opstman", "posmtan", and "posstman". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "postwar", "postal", "pitman", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From post + -man. The correct English form is postman, spelled P-O-S-T-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Someone who delivers the post (mail) to, and/or collects the post from, residential or commercial addresses, or from public mailboxes.
  2. 2
    One of the two most experienced barristers in the Court of Exchequer, who have precedence in motions, so called from the place where he sits, the other of the two being the tubman.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The total of their members amounts to 342,723 for 1875. Among these number … 6,968 male and sixty-three female postmen, imperial railway, telegraph, and post officials, railway workmen, dependent boatmen, waiters, &c.; …
  2. A single narrow iron-clamped door formed the only means of entrance. On this our guide knocked with a peculiar postman-like rat-tat.

Etymology

From post + -man.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opstman
  • posmtan
  • posstman
  • postamn
  • postmann
  • postmman
  • postmna
  • posttman
  • potsman
  • ppostman
  • psotman

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

opstman2posmtan2posstman1postamn2postmann1postmman1postmna2posttman1
Edit distance from "postman"

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 "postman"?
"postman" is spelled P-O-S-T-M-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpəʊs(t)mən/.
What does "postman" mean?
As a noun, "postman" means: Someone who delivers the post (mail) to, and/or collects the post from, residential or commercial addresses, or from public mailboxes.
What words are commonly confused with "postman"?
"postman" is commonly confused with "postwar", "postal", "pitman". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "postman"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "postman" is /ˈpəʊs(t)mən/. 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 "postman"?
From post + -man. 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 "postman", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

plunder#25,534plenary#25,533planter#25,531Pullman#25,541

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Poseidon11 variantsreliever11 variantsparable11 variantssampler11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list