pudding

/ˈpʊd.ɪŋ/

//ˈpʊd.ɪŋ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“pudding” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,841 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#12,841
frequency rank, English
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various dishes, sweet or savoury, prepared by boiling or steaming, or from batter.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pudding vs puking
71% similar
pudding vs putting
71% similar
pudding vs pushing
71% similar

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

Key facts for pudding
PropertyValue
Headwordpudding
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpʊd.ɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#12,841
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pudding” 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). pudding lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for pudding is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpʊd.ɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,841 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for pudding, with forms such as "pduding", "ppudding", and "puddign". 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 17 confusable-pair relationships, "puking", "putting", "pushing", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From circa 1305, Middle English podynge (“kind of sausage; meat-filled animal stomach”), puddynge, from Old French boudin (“blood sausage, black pudding”), from Latin botellus (“sausage, small intestine”). Doublet of boudin. * An alternative etymology assum… The correct English form is pudding, spelled P-U-D-D-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various dishes, sweet or savoury, prepared by boiling or steaming, or from batter.
  2. 2
    A type of cake or dessert cooked usually by boiling or steaming.
  3. 3
    A type of dessert that has a texture similar to custard or mousse but using some kind of starch as the thickening agent.
  4. 4
    Dessert; the dessert course of a meal.
  5. 5
    A sausage made primarily from blood.
  6. 6
    An overweight person.
  7. 7
    A term of endearment.
  8. 8
    Entrails.
  9. 9
    Any food or victuals.
  10. 10
    A piece of good fortune.

Etymology

From circa 1305, Middle English podynge (“kind of sausage; meat-filled animal stomach”), puddynge, from Old French boudin (“blood sausage, black pudding”), from Latin botellus (“sausage, small intestine”). Doublet of boudin. * An alternative etymology assumes origin from Proto-Germanic *put-, *pud- (“to swell”) (compare dialectal English pod (“belly”), Old English puduc (“wen, sore”), Low German puddig (“swollen”), Westphalian Puddek (“lump, pudding”), Puddewurst (“black pudding”). More at pout.

This word in other languages

morcilla(Español)boudin(Français)Blutwurst(Deutsch)morcela(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: pduding,ppudding,puddign,puddingg,puddinng,puddnig,pudidng,puding,updding

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

pduding2ppudding1puddign2puddingg1puddinng1puddnig2pudidng2puding1
Edit distance from "pudding"

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 "pudding"?
"pudding" is spelled P-U-D-D-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpʊd.ɪŋ/.
What does "pudding" mean?
As a noun, "pudding" means: Any of various dishes, sweet or savoury, prepared by boiling or steaming, or from batter.
What words are commonly confused with "pudding"?
"pudding" is commonly confused with "puking", "putting", "pushing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pudding"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pudding" is /ˈpʊd.ɪŋ/. 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 "pudding"?
From circa 1305, Middle English podynge (“kind of sausage; meat-filled animal stomach”), puddynge, from Old French boudin (“blood sausage, black pudding”), from Latin botellus (“sausage, small intestine”). Doublet of boudin. * An alternative etymo... 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 “pudding”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-U-D-D-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈpʊd.ɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “puking” - see the side-by-side comparison. pudding vs puking
  • 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.

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

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