pox
/pɑks/noun, verb
pox is spelled P-O-X: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pox means “A disease characterized by skin eruptions (especially purulent ones) that may leave pockmarks” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pox is poxes.
How many letters and syllables are in pox?
| Letters | 3: P-O-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,556th 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 pox?
Pox appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th 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 pox?
- US /pɑks/
Pox has one syllable (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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pox.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pox?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pox from its last stressed vowel (/ɑks/):
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 pox
- poxes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- poxing participle, present
- poxed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pox mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A disease characterized by skin eruptions (especially purulent ones) that may leave pockmarks.
- 2
Syphilis.
- 3
A curse.
a pox on all their houses
verb
- 1
datedTo infect with the pox, or syphilis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pox in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense A disease characterized by purulent skin eruptions that may leave pockmark – see:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vérole, variole, petite vérole |
| Portuguese | varíola |
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 pox come from?
From the plural of Middle English pocke. See also pock. The curse sense involves metonymy: wishing a literal pox upon someone is the original form of pox-relevant curse, and the word pox itself also came to mean curse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).