poultry

/ˈpɒltɹi/

//ˈpɒltɹi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“poultry” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,191. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,191
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Domestic fowl (e.g. chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese) raised for food (meat, eggs, or both).

Corpus desk

Index EN-poultry · poultry · English

poultry · rank #14,191 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,191
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH poo

Nearest frequency peer: poo (-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 “poultry”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “poultry” 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).

poultry vs poetry
71% similar
poultry vs paltry
71% similar

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

Key facts for poultry
PropertyValue
Headwordpoultry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɒltɹi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#14,191
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “poultry”

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).poultrylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “poo” (#14,190), “prominence” (#14,192), “prophets” (#14,193). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “poultry” is #14,191. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around poultry (IPA /ˈpɒltɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,191 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for poultry, with forms such as "opultry", "polutry", and "poulltry". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "poetry", "paltry", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pultrie, from Old French pouleterie, from poulet, diminutive of poule (“hen”), from Latin pullus (“chick”). For the development of Middle English /u/ to modern /oʊ/, /əʊ/ before /lt/, /ld/, /ln/, compare boult, boulder, colter/coulter, p… The correct English form is poultry, spelled P-O-U-L-T-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Domestic fowl (e.g. chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese) raised for food (meat, eggs, or both).
  2. 2
    The meat from a domestic fowl.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a poultry farmer
  2. the poultry counter

Etymology

From Middle English pultrie, from Old French pouleterie, from poulet, diminutive of poule (“hen”), from Latin pullus (“chick”). For the development of Middle English /u/ to modern /oʊ/, /əʊ/ before /lt/, /ld/, /ln/, compare boult, boulder, colter/coulter, poultice, shoulder, won't.

This word in other languages

pollería(Español)volaille(Français)Geflügel(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opultry
  • polutry
  • poulltry
  • poulrty
  • poultrry
  • poultryy
  • poulttry
  • poultyr
  • poutlry
  • ppoultry
  • puoltry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of poultry - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

opultry2polutry2poulltry1poulrty2poultrry1poultryy1poulttry1poultyr2
Edit distance from "poultry"

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 "poultry"?
"poultry" is spelled P-O-U-L-T-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɒltɹi/.
What does "poultry" mean?
As a noun, "poultry" means: Domestic fowl (e.g. chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese) raised for food (meat, eggs, or both).
What words are commonly confused with "poultry"?
"poultry" is commonly confused with "poetry", "paltry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "poultry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "poultry" is /ˈpɒltɹi/. 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 "poultry"?
From Middle English pultrie, from Old French pouleterie, from poulet, diminutive of poule (“hen”), from Latin pullus (“chick”). For the development of Middle English /u/ to modern /oʊ/, /əʊ/ before /lt/, /ld/, /ln/, compare boult, boulder, colter/... 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 "poultry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

quartet#14,196optimum#14,178robotic#14,204runaway#14,205

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

reactive11 variantsmitigate11 variantsSheldon11 variantssighted11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list