prim

/pɹɪm/

//pɹɪm// adj

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

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

The verdict

“prim” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,235. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,235
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of a person, their manner or appearance: Formal and precise; stiffly decorous.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prim · prim · English

prim · rank #34,235 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,235
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH preoccupation

Nearest frequency peer: preoccupation (-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 “prim”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “prim” 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).

prim vs pro
50% similar
prim vs psi
50% similar
prim vs pry
50% similar

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

Key facts for prim
PropertyValue
Headwordprim
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pɹɪm/
Letters4
Frequency rank#34,235
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prim”

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).primlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “preoccupation” (#34,234), “programmatic” (#34,236), “preamble” (#34,232). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prim” is #34,235. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around prim (IPA /pɹɪm/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #34,235 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for prim, with forms such as "pirm", "pprim", and "primm". 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", "psi", "pry", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Of uncertain origin. In the verb sense, first appeared in Thomas D'Urfey's A Fool's Preferment in the year 1688. In the noun sense, first appeared in A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew in the year 1699, meaning "prig." Now … The correct English form is prim, spelled P-R-I-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a person, their manner or appearance: Formal and precise; stiffly decorous.
  2. 2
    Of a person: Prudish; straight-laced.
  3. 3
    Of things: Neat; trim.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Philemon was in great Surprize,⁠ And hardly could believe his Eyes, Amaz’d to ſee her look ſo prim; And ſhe admir’d as much at him.
  2. God damn it, what does she want of me, this sad, beautiful bridgeplayer of the Fifth Floor, with her air of lost love and her prim carnality?

Etymology

Of uncertain origin. In the verb sense, first appeared in Thomas D'Urfey's A Fool's Preferment in the year 1688. In the noun sense, first appeared in A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew in the year 1699, meaning "prig." Now obsolete. In the adjective sense, first appeared in Sir Richard Steele's The Funeral in the year 1702, meaning "consciously or affectedly strict or precise; stiffly formal and respectable." Oxford English Dictionary proposed a relation with primp and prink. Chiefly Scottish and U.S.

This word in other languages

mojigato(Español)collet monté(Français)prüde(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pirm
  • pprim
  • primm
  • prmi
  • prrim
  • rpim

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prim - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

pirm2pprim1primm1prmi2prrim1rpim2
Edit distance from "prim"

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 "prim"?
"prim" is spelled P-R-I-M. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹɪm/.
What does "prim" mean?
As an adjective, "prim" means: Of a person, their manner or appearance: Formal and precise; stiffly decorous.
What words are commonly confused with "prim"?
"prim" is commonly confused with "pro", "psi", "pry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prim"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prim" is /pɹɪm/. 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 "prim"?
Of uncertain origin. In the verb sense, first appeared in Thomas D'Urfey's A Fool's Preferment in the year 1688. In the noun sense, first appeared in A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew in the year 1699, meaning "p... 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 "prim", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

regs#34,256omer#34,212Sina#34,286slog#34,288

Similar misspelling depth

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

Quetta6 variantsNieto6 variantsmarv6 variantskelp6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list