potato

/pəˈteɪ.təʊ/

//pəˈteɪ.təʊ// noun

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

"potato" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“potato” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,998. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,998
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A plant of species Solanum tuberosum or its edible starchy tuber.

Corpus desk

Index EN-potato · potato · English

potato · rank #5,998 · 8 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,998
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH possibilities

Nearest frequency peer: possibilities (-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 “potato”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “potato” 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).

potato vs potty
67% similar
potato vs potatoes
75% similar
potato vs Porto
50% similar

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

Key facts for potato
PropertyValue
Headwordpotato
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈteɪ.təʊ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,998
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “potato”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).potatolands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “possibilities” (#5,997), “potter” (#5,999), “poems” (#5,996). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “potato” is #5,998. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around potato (IPA /pəˈteɪ.təʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,998 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for potato, with forms such as "optato", "poatto", and "potaot". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "potty", "potatoes", "Porto", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish patata, itself borrowed from Taíno batata (“sweet potato”). The correct English form is potato, spelled P-O-T-A-T-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A plant of species Solanum tuberosum or its edible starchy tuber.
  2. 2
    A sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)
  3. 3
    A conspicuous hole in a sock or stocking.
  4. 4
    A person or animal shaped like a potato, that is, with a large belly and/or short legs.
  5. 5
    Metaphor for a person or thing of little value.
  6. 6
    Metaphor for a person or thing of little value.
  7. 7
    Metaphor for a person or thing of little value.
  8. 8
    Metaphor for a person or thing of little value.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Do not let your child have potato for another year; he will probably take milk well enough after he is weaned.
  2. The protein value of this dish is equal to that of 1⅛ pounds of potato and beef, the fuel value, however, being much in excess of these.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish patata, itself borrowed from Taíno batata (“sweet potato”).

Synonyms

p'taterspudtatertatietatorDonovanearthapplemurphybog orangeIrish apricotIrish fruitmickeytoaster

This word in other languages

patata(Español)pomme de terre(Français)Kartoffel(Deutsch)batata(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • optato
  • poatto
  • potaot
  • potatto
  • pottao
  • pottato
  • ppotato
  • ptoato

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

optato2poatto2potaot2potatto1pottao2pottato1ppotato1ptoato2
Edit distance from "potato"

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 "potato"?
"potato" is spelled P-O-T-A-T-O. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈteɪ.təʊ/.
What does "potato" mean?
As a noun, "potato" means: A plant of species Solanum tuberosum or its edible starchy tuber.
What words are commonly confused with "potato"?
"potato" is commonly confused with "potty", "potatoes", "Porto". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "potato"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "potato" is /pəˈteɪ.təʊ/. 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 "potato"?
Borrowed from Spanish patata, itself borrowed from Taíno batata (“sweet potato”). 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 "potato", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

potter#5,999parish#5,994openly#5,990mixing#5,984

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

stamp8 variantswitch8 variantsbacks8 variantsfreeze8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list