pound

/paʊnd/

//paʊnd// noun

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

"pound" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pound” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,180. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,180
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A unit of weight in various measurement systems.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pound · pound · English

pound · rank #4,180 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,180
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH painful

Nearest frequency peer: painful (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pound”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pound” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

pound vs pun
60% similar
pound vs punk
60% similar
pound vs pour
60% similar

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

Key facts for pound
PropertyValue
Headwordpound
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/paʊnd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#4,180
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pound” 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). pound lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around pound (IPA /paʊnd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,180 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 15 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for pound, with forms such as "opund", "ponud", and "poudn". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pun", "punk", "pour", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pound, from Old English pund (“a pound, weight”), from Proto-West Germanic *pund, from Proto-Germanic *pundą (“pound, weight”), an early borrowing from Latin pondō (“by weight”), ablative form of pondus (“weight”), from Proto-Indo-Europe… The correct English form is pound, spelled P-O-U-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
  2. 2
    A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
  3. 3
    A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
  4. 4
    A unit of mass in various measurement systems.
  5. 5
    A unit of mass in various measurement systems.
  6. 6
    A unit of mass in various measurement systems.
  7. 7
    A unit of mass in various measurement systems.
  8. 8
    A unit of force in various measurement systems
  9. 9
    A unit of force in various measurement systems
  10. 10
    A unit of force in various measurement systems
  11. 11
    A unit of currency in various currency systems.
  12. 12
    A unit of currency in various currency systems.
  13. 13
    A unit of currency in various currency systems.
  14. 14
    A unit of currency in various currency systems.
  15. 15
    The symbol #.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. B-2 bombers are the only plane capable of carrying the Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which experts have highlighted as the only type of bomb potentially capable of destroying Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility. Each B-2 bomber is able to carry two of these “bunker buster” bombs, which weigh an impressive 30,000 pounds each.
  2. Research shows that retaining even one or two pounds after giving birth can make problems more likely in a subsequent pregnancy, experts said, with women who have several children facing a "slippery slope" if they continue to gain weight each time.

Etymology

From Middle English pound, from Old English pund (“a pound, weight”), from Proto-West Germanic *pund, from Proto-Germanic *pundą (“pound, weight”), an early borrowing from Latin pondō (“by weight”), ablative form of pondus (“weight”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to pull, stretch”). Cognate with Dutch pond, German Pfund, Danish pund and Swedish pund. Doublet of funt, pfund, pood, and punt.

This word in other languages

libra(Español)livre(Français)Pfund(Deutsch)libra(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opund
  • ponud
  • poudn
  • poundd
  • pounnd
  • ppound
  • puond

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

opund2ponud2poudn2poundd1pounnd1ppound1puond2
Edit distance from "pound"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pound"?
"pound" is spelled P-O-U-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /paʊnd/.
What does "pound" mean?
As a noun, "pound" means: A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
What words are commonly confused with "pound"?
"pound" is commonly confused with "pun", "punk", "pour". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pound"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pound" is /paʊnd/. 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 "pound"?
From Middle English pound, from Old English pund (“a pound, weight”), from Proto-West Germanic *pund, from Proto-Germanic *pundą (“pound, weight”), an early borrowing from Latin pondō (“by weight”), ablative form of pondus (“weight”), from Proto-I... 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 "pound", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

punch#4,182walks#4,203bones#4,141blast#4,140

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

fewer7 variantsspots7 variantsshore7 variantsshake7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "pound". Here's where to go from here.

  • "pound" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "pun". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #4,180 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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