pricking

/ˈpɹɪkɪŋ/

//ˈpɹɪkɪŋ// verb

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

"pricking" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pricking” is uncommon English (frequency #72,673 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,673
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of prick

Corpus desk

Index EN-pricking · pricking · English

pricking · rank #72,673 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,673
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Prevost

Nearest frequency peer: Prevost (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “pricking”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “pricking” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pricking
PropertyValue
Headwordpricking
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpɹɪkɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#72,673
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pricking” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).prickingfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Prevost” (#72,672), “Pressley” (#72,671), “prepay” (#72,669). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pricking” is #72,673. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pricking is uncommon English at frequency #72,673 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈpɹɪkɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "present participle and gerund of prick".

pricking has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is pricking, spelled P-R-I-C-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of prick

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 "pricking"?
"pricking" is spelled P-R-I-C-K-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɪkɪŋ/.
What does "pricking" mean?
As a verb, "pricking" means: present participle and gerund of prick
How do you pronounce "pricking"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pricking" is /ˈpɹɪkɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pricking" come from?
"pricking" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "pricking", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Pressley#72,671porteous#72,663polluter#72,660Playfair#72,656

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list