potluck
pot·luck/ˈpɑtˌlʌk/noun, verb
potluck is spelled P-O-T-L-U-C-K: 7 letters and 2 syllables (pot·luck). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, potluck means “A meal, especially one offered to a guest, consisting of whatever food is available” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of potluck is potlucks.
How many letters and syllables are in potluck?
| Letters | 7: P-O-T-L-U-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pot·luck |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 50,539th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is potluck?
Potluck appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce potluck?
- UK /ˌpɒtˈlʌk/
- US /ˈpɑtˌlʌk/
- US /-ˌlək/
Potluck has 2 syllables, split pot·luck in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-potluck.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with potluck
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: pot-luck (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of potluck
- potlucks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pot luck
- pot-luck
- potlucking participle, present
- potlucked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does potluck mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
datedA meal, especially one offered to a guest, consisting of whatever food is available.
Here are some leftover beans and meat; we can make a good potluck stew from them.
- 2
Whatever is available in a particular situation.
- 3
USA shared meal consisting of whatever guests have brought (sometimes without prior arrangement); a potlatch; also, a dish of food brought to such a meal.
- 4
obsoleteThe last draft or portion of an alcoholic beverage in a pot or other drinking vessel.
verb
- 1
To take part in a potluck, where each participant brings a meal to be shared by all.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Potluck in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense meal consisting of whatever food is available:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | comida ordinaria |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does potluck come from?
From pot + luck. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, sense 3 (“a shared meal consisting of whatever guests have brought”) is unlikely to have been influenced by potlatch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).