pray

/pɹeɪ/

//pɹeɪ// verb

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

"pray" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pray” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,648. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,648
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pray · pray · English

pray · rank #3,648 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,648
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pot

Nearest frequency peer: pot (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “pray”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “pray” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

pray vs pro
50% similar
pray vs PSA
0% similar
pray vs PRC
0% similar

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

Key facts for pray
PropertyValue
Headwordpray
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɹeɪ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,648
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pray”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).praylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “pot” (#3,647), “printed” (#3,649), “poetry” (#3,646). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pray” is #3,648. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around pray (IPA /pɹeɪ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #3,648 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for pray, with forms such as "pary", "ppray", and "prayy". 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, "pro", "PSA", "PRC", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English preien, from Anglo-Norman preier, from Old French preier, proier (French prier), from Latin precārī, from prex, precis (“a prayer, a request”), from Proto-Italic *preks, from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask, woo”). Displaced native O… The correct English form is pray, spelled P-R-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc.
  2. 2
    To humbly beg a person for aid or their time.
  3. 3
    To ask earnestly for; to seek to obtain by supplication; to entreat for.
  4. 4
    To wish or hope strongly for a particular outcome.
  5. 5
    To implore, to entreat, to request.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Muslims pray in the direction of Mecca.
  2. Pray to the small gods and hope that they may hear thee. Yet what mercy should the small gods have, who themselves made Death and Pain; or shall they restrain their old hound Time for thee?

Etymology

From Middle English preien, from Anglo-Norman preier, from Old French preier, proier (French prier), from Latin precārī, from prex, precis (“a prayer, a request”), from Proto-Italic *preks, from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask, woo”). Displaced native Old English gebiddan. Cognate via Indo-European of Old English frignan, fricgan, German fragen, Dutch vragen. Compare deprecate, imprecate, precarious.

This word in other languages

rezar(Español)prier(Français)beten(Deutsch)rezar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pary
  • ppray
  • prayy
  • prray
  • prya
  • rpay

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

pary2ppray1prayy1prray1prya2rpay2
Edit distance from "pray"

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pray"?
"pray" is spelled P-R-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹeɪ/.
What does "pray" mean?
As a verb, "pray" means: To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "pray"?
"pray" is commonly confused with "pro", "PSA", "PRC". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pray"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pray" is /pɹeɪ/. 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 "pray"?
From Middle English preien, from Anglo-Norman preier, from Old French preier, proier (French prier), from Latin precārī, from prex, precis (“a prayer, a request”), from Proto-Italic *preks, from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask, woo”). Displace... 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 "pray", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sake#3,652Arab#3,666hire#3,628gods#3,626

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

elite6 variantsbuddy6 variantsidiot6 variantskeys6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list