prank
/pɹæŋk/noun, verb
prank is spelled P-R-A-N-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, prank means “A practical joke or mischievous trick” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of prank is pranks.
How many letters and syllables are in prank?
| Letters | 5: P-R-A-N-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 5.0 times per million words; the 11,198th 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; 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 prank?
Prank appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th 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 prank?
- US /pɹæŋk/
- US [ˈpɹʷæŋk]
- British /pɹaŋk/
Prank has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-prank.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with prank?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as prank from its last stressed vowel (/æŋk/):
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 prank
- pranks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pranking participle, present
- pranked past, participle
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prank mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A practical joke or mischievous trick.
play a prank
- 2
obsoleteAn evil deed; a malicious trick, an act of cruel deception.
She played a cruel prank on him.
verb
- 1
To perform a practical joke on; to trick and make a fool of someone.
- 2
To make a prank call to (someone).
- 3
slangTo call someone's phone and hang up before they answer, so as to send them a notification (of a missed call) without incurring fees.
Hey man, prank me when you wanna get picked up.
- 4
archaicTo adorn in a showy manner; to dress or equip ostentatiously.
- 5
To make an ostentatious show.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prank in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | farce, tour |
| German | Streich, Schabernack , veralbern, veräppeln |
| Portuguese | travessura, trote, pegadinha |
| Spanish | travesura, broma, inocentada, jaimitada, diablura, picardía |
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 prank come from?
Origin uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English pranken (“to adorn, arrange one's attire”), probably from Middle Dutch pronken, proncken (“to flaunt, make a show, arrange one's attire”), related to German prangen (“to make a show, be resplendent”), Dutch prangen (“to squeeze, press”), Danish pragt (“pomp, splendor”), all from Proto-Germanic *pranganą, *prangijaną, *prag- (“to press, squeeze, thring”), from Proto-Indo-European *brengʰ- (“to press, squeeze”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).