potter
/ˈpɑtɚ/noun, verb
potter is spelled P-O-T-T-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, potter means “One who makes pots and other ceramic wares” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of potter is potters.
How many letters and syllables are in potter?
| Letters | 6: P-O-T-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,957th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is potter?
Potter appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th 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 potter?
- UK /ˈpɒtə/
- US /ˈpɑtɚ/
Potter has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-potter.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with potter?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as potter from its last stressed vowel (/ɑtəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of potter
- potters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pottering participle, present
- pottered participle, past
- putter
- pouter
- pooter
- pudder
- pother
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does potter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who makes pots and other ceramic wares.
- 2
One who places flowers or other plants inside their pots.
- 3
One who pots meats or other eatables.
- 4
One who hawks crockery or earthenware.
- 5
The red-bellied terrapin, Pseudemys rubriventris (species of turtle).
- 6
The chicken turtle, Deirochelys reticularia.
verb
- 1
UKTo act in a vague or unmotivated way; to fuss about with unimportant things.
- 2
UKTo move slowly or aimlessly. (Often potter about, potter around.)
- 3
obsoleteTo poke repeatedly.
noun
- 1
A person from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK
- 2
someone connected with Stoke City Football Club (in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK), as a fan, player, coach etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Potter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one who makes pots and ceramic wares:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | potier, potière |
| German | Töpfer, Töpferin |
| Portuguese | oleiro, oleira, ceramista |
| Spanish | alfarero, alfarera, ceramista |
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 potter come from?
From Middle English pottere, from Old English pottere (“potter”, in placenames), from Proto-West Germanic *pottārī (“pot-maker”), equivalent to pot + -er. Influenced by Anglo-Norman poter, Old French potier (“potter”). Cognate with Dutch potter (“potter”), German Low German Pötter, Pütter (“potter”). Displaced Old English synonyms lāmwyrhta (“a worker in clay, potter”, literally “loam-worker”), tiġelwyrhta (“brickmaker, potter”, literally “tile-worker”), crocwyrhta (“crocker, potter”, literally “crock-worker”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).