preen
/pɹiːn/noun, verb
preen is spelled P-R-E-E-N: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 78,613th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, preen means “A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of preen is preens.
How many letters and syllables are in preen?
| Letters | 5: P-R-E-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 78,613th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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 preen?
Preen appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 78,613th 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 preen?
- /pɹiːn/
Preen 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-preen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with preen?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as preen.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: perne.
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 preen
- preens plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- preening participle, present
- preened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does preen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.
- 2
A pin.
- 3
A bodkin; brooch.
verb
- 1
To pin; fasten.
- 2
To groom; to trim or dress the feathers with the beak.
- 3
To spend time making oneself attractive and admiring one's appearance, e.g. in front of a mirror.
- 4
To show off, posture, or smarm.
- 5
To flatter.
- 6
To comb; to make orderly.
- 7
To trim up, as trees.
- 8
To improve the appearance of; groom; prettify.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Preen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | putzen , herausputzen, zurechtmachen, aufbretzeln , sich brüsten |
| Spanish | ostentar |
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 preen come from?
From Middle English pren, from Old English prēon, from Proto-Germanic *preunaz (compare Icelandic prjónn (“pin, knitting-needle”), Danish pryne (“needle, eel-spear”)), of uncertain origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *brewn- (“protrusion, tip, edge”) (compare Lithuanian briaunà (“edge”), Albanian brez (“belt, girdle”)). Cognate with German Pfriem. The verb is from Middle English prenen, from pren (“a preen”), akin to German pfriemen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).