prickly pear
/ˌpɹɪkli ˈpɛː/
"prickly-pear" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“prickly pear” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various spiny cacti of the genus Opuntia.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | prickly pear |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌpɹɪkli ˈpɛː/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “prickly pear” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for prickly pear is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌpɹɪkli ˈpɛː/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for prickly pear, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From prickly + pear, from the nature of the plant's fruit, which, like the cactus it grows on, has spines on its surface. The correct English form is prickly pear, spelled P-R-I-C-K-L-Y- -P-E-A-R.
Definition
- 1Any of various spiny cacti of the genus Opuntia.
- 2The fruit, often edible, of such a plant.
Etymology
From prickly + pear, from the nature of the plant's fruit, which, like the cactus it grows on, has spines on its surface.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “prickly pear”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-I-C-K-L-Y- -P-E-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌpɹɪkli ˈpɛː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.