puddle

/ˈpʌdl̩/

//ˈpʌdl̩// noun

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

"puddle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“puddle” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,745. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,745
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small, often temporary, pool of water, usually on a path or road.

Corpus desk

Index EN-puddle · puddle · English

puddle · rank #20,745 · 7 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,745
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH quay

Nearest frequency peer: quay (+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 “puddle”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “puddle” 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).

puddle vs purple
67% similar
puddle vs puzzle
67% similar
puddle vs Purdue
50% similar

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

Key facts for puddle
PropertyValue
Headwordpuddle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpʌdl̩/
Letters6
Frequency rank#20,745
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “puddle”

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).puddlelands 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 “quay” (#20,746), “Prussian” (#20,743), “railing” (#20,747). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “puddle” is #20,745. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around puddle (IPA /ˈpʌdl̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,745 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for puddle, with forms such as "pdudle", "ppuddle", and "puddel". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "purple", "puzzle", "Purdue", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English podel, diminutive of Old English pudd (“ditch”), from Proto-Germanic *puddaz (compare Low German Pudel (“puddle”), Middle High German podel (“quagmire, mudhole”), Hunsrik Puttel, dialectal German Pfudel (“puddle”), German pudeln (“to spl… The correct English form is puddle, spelled P-U-D-D-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small, often temporary, pool of water, usually on a path or road.
  2. 2
    Stagnant or polluted water.
  3. 3
    A homogeneous mixture of clay, water, and sometimes grit, used to line a canal or pond to make it watertight.
  4. 4
    The ripple left by the withdrawal of an oar from the water.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Foꝛ with the only be theſe welles of lyfe, / Of frayle men ſpring but podels of myꝛe, / From whom ſourdeth errour ⁊ croked ſtrife[…]
  2. And fast beside a little brooke did pas / Of muddie water, that like puddle stank […].

Etymology

From Middle English podel, diminutive of Old English pudd (“ditch”), from Proto-Germanic *puddaz (compare Low German Pudel (“puddle”), Middle High German podel (“quagmire, mudhole”), Hunsrik Puttel, dialectal German Pfudel (“puddle”), German pudeln (“to splash about”)), ultimately imitative.

This word in other languages

charco(Español)flaque(Français)Pfütze(Deutsch)poça(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pdudle
  • ppuddle
  • puddel
  • puddlle
  • pudlde
  • pudle
  • upddle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

pdudle2ppuddle1puddel2puddlle1pudlde2pudle1upddle2
Edit distance from "puddle"

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 "puddle"?
"puddle" is spelled P-U-D-D-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpʌdl̩/.
What does "puddle" mean?
As a noun, "puddle" means: A small, often temporary, pool of water, usually on a path or road.
What words are commonly confused with "puddle"?
"puddle" is commonly confused with "purple", "puzzle", "Purdue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "puddle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "puddle" is /ˈpʌdl̩/. 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 "puddle"?
From Middle English podel, diminutive of Old English pudd (“ditch”), from Proto-Germanic *puddaz (compare Low German Pudel (“puddle”), Middle High German podel (“quagmire, mudhole”), Hunsrik Puttel, dialectal German Pfudel (“puddle”), German pudel... 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 "puddle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

reload#20,753pelvis#20,733packer#20,730revoke#20,760

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

outage7 variantsnouns7 variantsstair7 variantsmacho7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list