pratfall
noun, verb
pratfall is spelled P-R-A-T-F-A-L-L: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 33 million words in written English, the 176,009th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pratfall means “A fall onto the buttocks” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pratfall is pratfalls.
How many letters and syllables are in pratfall?
| Letters | 8: P-R-A-T-F-A-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 33 million words; the 176,009th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is pratfall?
Pratfall appears about once in every 33 million words in written English, the 176,009th 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 pratfall?
- US
Pratfall 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-pratfall.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pratfall
- pratfalls plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- prat-fall
- pratt-fall
- pratfalling participle, present
- pratfell past
- pratfallen participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pratfall mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A fall onto the buttocks.
- 2
A humiliating mistake.
- 3
A staged trip or fall, often for comedic purposes.
The motivational speaker started with a pratfall so he could speak about the importance of getting back up.
verb
- 1
To fall on to the buttocks.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does pratfall come from?
From prat + fall.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).