prism
/ˈpɹɪz(ə)m/
"prism" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“prism” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,311 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,311
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | prism |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɹɪz(ə)m/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #16,311 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “prism” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for prism is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɹɪz(ə)m/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,311 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for prism, with forms such as "pirsm", "pprism", and "prims". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PRS", "pros", "prom", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Late Latin prisma (“(geometry) prism”), from Ancient Greek πρίσμᾰ (prísmă, “anything sawn; sawdust; (Koine, geometry) prism”), from πρῐ́ζω (prĭ́zō) (a variant of πρῑ́ω (prī́ō, “to saw”), further etymology unknown) + -μᾰ (-mă, suffix f… The correct English form is prism, spelled P-R-I-S-M.
Definition
- 1A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.
- 2A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.
- 3A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.
- 4A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.
- 5A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.
- 6A retroreflector (“device which reflects light back to its source with minimal scattering”) which is usually attached to a surveying pole as a target for a total station which emits a light beam at the device and calculates how long it takes to be reflected back in order to measure distance.
- 7A perspective that colours one's perception.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin prisma (“(geometry) prism”), from Ancient Greek πρίσμᾰ (prísmă, “anything sawn; sawdust; (Koine, geometry) prism”), from πρῐ́ζω (prĭ́zō) (a variant of πρῑ́ω (prī́ō, “to saw”), further etymology unknown) + -μᾰ (-mă, suffix forming neuter nouns denoting the effect or result of an action, etc.).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: pirsm,pprism,prims,prismm,prissm,prrism,prsim,rpism
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prism - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "prism"?
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Using “prism”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɹɪz(ə)m/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “PRS” - see the side-by-side comparison. prism vs PRS
- 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.