pothead

noun

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

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

The verdict

“pothead” is uncommon English (frequency #66,210 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,210
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person who smokes cannabis frequently, or to excess.

Key facts for pothead
PropertyValue
Headwordpothead
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Frequency rank#66,210
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pothead” 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). pothead lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pothead is uncommon English at frequency #66,210 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for pothead in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pot (“marijuana”) + -head. First sense appears c. 1957 in the writings of Jack Gelber. Third sense appears c. 1639. The correct English form is pothead, spelled P-O-T-H-E-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who smokes cannabis frequently, or to excess.
  2. 2
    An electric motor's terminal connection or wiring box.
  3. 3
    A stupid individual; a fool.

Etymology

From pot (“marijuana”) + -head. First sense appears c. 1957 in the writings of Jack Gelber. Third sense appears c. 1639.

This word in other languages

fumeta(Español)Kiffer(Deutsch)maconheiro(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 "pothead"?
"pothead" is spelled P-O-T-H-E-A-D.
What does "pothead" mean?
As a noun, "pothead" means: A person who smokes cannabis frequently, or to excess.
What is the origin of the word "pothead"?
From pot (“marijuana”) + -head. First sense appears c. 1957 in the writings of Jack Gelber. Third sense appears c. 1639. 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 “pothead”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-O-T-H-E-A-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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