publish

/ˈpʌblɪʃ/

//ˈpʌblɪʃ// verb

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

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

The verdict

“publish” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,088. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,088
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To issue (something, such as printed work) for distribution and/or sale.

Corpus desk

Index EN-publish · publish · English

publish · rank #6,088 · 11 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,088
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH provider

Nearest frequency peer: provider (-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 “publish”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “publish” 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).

publish vs punish
71% similar
publish vs purplish
75% similar
publish vs published
78% similar

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

Key facts for publish
PropertyValue
Headwordpublish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpʌblɪʃ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,088
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “publish”

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).publishlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “provider” (#6,087), “purely” (#6,089), “ralph” (#6,090). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “publish” is #6,088. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around publish (IPA /ˈpʌblɪʃ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,088 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for publish, with forms such as "pbulish", "ppublish", and "pubblish". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "punish", "purplish", "published", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English publicen (by analogy with banish, finish), from Old French publier, from Latin publicare (“to make public, show or tell to the people, make known, declare, also (and earlier) confiscate for public use”), from publicus (“pertaining to the… The correct English form is publish, spelled P-U-B-L-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    To issue (something, such as printed work) for distribution and/or sale.
  2. 2
    To announce to the public.
  3. 3
    To issue the work of (an author).
  4. 4
    To disseminate (a message) publicly via a newsgroup, forum, blog, etc.
  5. 5
    To issue a medium (e.g. publication).
  6. 6
    To have one's work accepted for a publication.
  7. 7
    To be made available in a printed publication or other medium.
  8. 8
    To make (information such as an event) available to components that wish to be notified (subscribers).
  9. 9
    To preach (as a Jehovah's Witness).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Times published the investigative piece about the governor both in print and online.
  2. Most of the sketches Faulkner published in 1925 appeared in the Sunday magazine section of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Etymology

From Middle English publicen (by analogy with banish, finish), from Old French publier, from Latin publicare (“to make public, show or tell to the people, make known, declare, also (and earlier) confiscate for public use”), from publicus (“pertaining to the people, public”); see public.

Synonyms

disclosemake knownpost

Antonyms

private

This word in other languages

publicar(Español)publier(Français)herausgeben(Deutsch)anunciar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pbulish
  • ppublish
  • pubblish
  • pubilsh
  • publihs
  • publishh
  • publissh
  • publlish
  • publsih
  • pulbish
  • upblish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

pbulish2ppublish1pubblish1pubilsh2publihs2publishh1publissh1publlish1
Edit distance from "publish"

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 "publish"?
"publish" is spelled P-U-B-L-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpʌblɪʃ/.
What does "publish" mean?
As a verb, "publish" means: To issue (something, such as printed work) for distribution and/or sale.
What words are commonly confused with "publish"?
"publish" is commonly confused with "punish", "purplish", "published". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "publish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "publish" is /ˈpʌblɪʃ/. 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 "publish"?
From Middle English publicen (by analogy with banish, finish), from Old French publier, from Latin publicare (“to make public, show or tell to the people, make known, declare, also (and earlier) confiscate for public use”), from publicus (“pertain... 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 "publish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

loading#6,069watches#6,110anxious#6,112bombing#6,115

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

hurricane11 variantshardest11 variantsdarling11 variantsexamined11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list