pot

/pɒt/

//pɒt// noun

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

"pot" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pot” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,647 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,647
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A flat-bottomed vessel (usually metal) used for cooking food, possibly excluding saucepans (see usage notes).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pot vs PP
0% similar
pot vs PR
0% similar
pot vs pt
67% similar

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

Key facts for pot
PropertyValue
Headwordpot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɒt/
Letters3
Frequency rank#3,647
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pot” 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). pot 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 pot is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɒt/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,647 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 24 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for pot, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PP", "PR", "pt", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pot, potte, from Old English pott (“pot”) and Old French pot (“pot”) (probably from Frankish *pott); both Old English and Frankish from Proto-Germanic *puttaz (“pot”), from Proto-Indo-European *budnós (“a type of vessel”). Cognate with S… The correct English form is pot, spelled P-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A flat-bottomed vessel (usually metal) used for cooking food, possibly excluding saucepans (see usage notes).
  2. 2
    Various similar open-topped vessels, particularly
  3. 3
    Various similar open-topped vessels, particularly
  4. 4
    Various similar open-topped vessels, particularly
  5. 5
    Various similar open-topped vessels, particularly
  6. 6
    Various similar open-topped vessels, particularly
  7. 7
    Various similar open-topped vessels, particularly
  8. 8
    Various similar open-topped vessels, particularly
  9. 9
    Various similar open-topped vessels, particularly
  10. 10
    Various similar open-topped vessels, particularly
  11. 11
    Various similar open-topped vessels, particularly
  12. 12
    Pothole, sinkhole, vertical cave.
  13. 13
    A shallow hole used in certain games played with marbles. The marbles placed in it are called potsies.
  14. 14
    Ruin or deterioration.
  15. 15
    Any of various traditional units of volume notionally based on the capacity of a pot.
  16. 16
    An iron hat with a broad brim worn as a helmet.
  17. 17
    A pot-shaped non-conducting (usually ceramic) stand that supports an electrified rail while insulating it from the ground.
  18. 18
    The money available to be won in a hand of poker or a round of other games of chance; (figuratively) any sum of money being used as an enticement.
  19. 19
    An allocation of money for a particular purpose.
  20. 20
    A favorite: a heavily-backed horse.
  21. 21
    Clipping of potbelly (“a pot-shaped belly, a paunch”).
  22. 22
    Clipping of potshot (“a haphazard shot; an easy or cheap shot”).
  23. 23
    A plaster cast.
  24. 24
    Alternative form of pott: a former size of paper, 12.5 × 15 inches.

Etymology

From Middle English pot, potte, from Old English pott (“pot”) and Old French pot (“pot”) (probably from Frankish *pott); both Old English and Frankish from Proto-Germanic *puttaz (“pot”), from Proto-Indo-European *budnós (“a type of vessel”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Pot (“pot”), Dutch pot (“pot”), German Low German Pott (“pot”), German Pott (“pot”), Swedish potta (“chamber pot”), Icelandic pottur (“tub, pot”), Old Armenian պոյտն (poytn, “pot, earthen pot”). Also, Old Norse pottr (“pot, tub, basin”). The sense of ruin or deterioration was originally a general allusion to "being chopped up and tossed in a (normally fiery) pot, like a piece of meat" (i.e. to get wasted or done with (by someone)). The 'clean' slang term which was used in reference to toilet rooms and lavatories apparently derives from English chamberpots, although now usually encountered as potty in the context of children's toilet training.

This word in other languages

olla(Español)pot(Français)Topf(Deutsch)pote(Português)

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 "pot"?
"pot" is spelled P-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pɒt/.
What does "pot" mean?
As a noun, "pot" means: A flat-bottomed vessel (usually metal) used for cooking food, possibly excluding saucepans (see usage notes).
What words are commonly confused with "pot"?
"pot" is commonly confused with "PP", "PR", "pt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pot" is /pɒt/. 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 "pot"?
From Middle English pot, potte, from Old English pott (“pot”) and Old French pot (“pot”) (probably from Frankish *pott); both Old English and Frankish from Proto-Germanic *puttaz (“pot”), from Proto-Indo-European *budnós (“a type of vessel”). Cogn... 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 “pot”

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

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