puberty

/ˈpjuː.bə.ti/

//ˈpjuː.bə.ti// noun

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

"puberty" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“puberty” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,684. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,684
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A developmental phase brought about by the action of hormones as part of the maturing process. For humans, there are three in total.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

puberty vs poverty
71% similar

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

Key facts for puberty
PropertyValue
Headwordpuberty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpjuː.bə.ti/
Letters7
Frequency rank#15,684
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “puberty” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). puberty lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around puberty (IPA /ˈpjuː.bə.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,684 among 46,516 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for puberty, with forms such as "pbuerty", "ppuberty", and "pubberty". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "poverty", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English puberte, from Old French puberté, from Latin pūbertās (“the age of maturity, manhood”). The correct English form is puberty, spelled P-U-B-E-R-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A developmental phase brought about by the action of hormones as part of the maturing process. For humans, there are three in total.
  2. 2
    A developmental phase brought about by the action of hormones as part of the maturing process. For humans, there are three in total.
  3. 3
    The age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction.
  4. 4
    The period when a plant begins to flower.

Etymology

From Middle English puberte, from Old French puberté, from Latin pūbertās (“the age of maturity, manhood”).

This word in other languages

pubertad(Español)puberté(Français)Reifezeit(Deutsch)puberdade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pbuerty
  • ppuberty
  • pubberty
  • puberrty
  • pubertty
  • pubertyy
  • puberyt
  • pubetry
  • pubrety
  • puebrty
  • upberty

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of puberty - 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.

pbuerty2ppuberty1pubberty1puberrty1pubertty1pubertyy1puberyt2pubetry2
Edit distance from "puberty"

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 "puberty"?
"puberty" is spelled P-U-B-E-R-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpjuː.bə.ti/.
What does "puberty" mean?
As a noun, "puberty" means: A developmental phase brought about by the action of hormones as part of the maturing process. For humans, there are three in total.
What words are commonly confused with "puberty"?
"puberty" is commonly confused with "poverty". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "puberty"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "puberty" is /ˈpjuː.bə.ti/. 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 "puberty"?
From Middle English puberte, from Old French puberté, from Latin pūbertās (“the age of maturity, manhood”). 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.

Using “puberty”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-U-B-E-R-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈpjuː.bə.ti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “poverty” - see the side-by-side comparison. puberty vs poverty
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list