prawn
/pɹɔːn/noun, verb
prawn is spelled P-R-A-W-N: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, prawn means “A crustacean of the suborder Dendrobranchiata” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of prawn is prawns.
How many letters and syllables are in prawn?
| Letters | 5: P-R-A-W-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd 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 prawn?
Prawn appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd 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 prawn?
- UK /pɹɔːn/
- British /pɹoːn/
- /pɹɔn/
Prawn 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: En-au-prawn.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with prawn
Also written: porn.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with prawn?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as prawn from its last stressed vowel (/ɔn/, British pronunciation):
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 prawn
- prawns plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- prawning participle, present
- prawned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prawn mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A crustacean of the suborder Dendrobranchiata.
- 2
CommonwealthA crustacean, sometimes confused with shrimp.
- 3
AustraliacolloquialderogatorySynonym of butterface: A woman with an attractive body but an unattractive face.
She's a prawn!
- 4
AustraliaslangA fool, an idiot.
- 5
Alternative form of porn.
verb
- 1
To fish for prawns.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prawn in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense large shrimp:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | crevette |
| German | Garnele |
| Portuguese | camarão, pitu |
| Spanish | gamba, camarón, langostino, langostín |
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 prawn come from?
First attested early 1400s as various Middle English forms prayne, prane, praune, and prawne, which present no clear cognates in languages other than English. The forms suggest a hypothetical Old English form *prægn, where *æg would have evolved into Middle English *ay, but it is unclear if the word is of Germanic origin, from another European language, or loaned from a substrate. In the Isle of Wight, a word prankle ("prawn") is recorded and thought to be related.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).