pukey

adj

"pukey" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pukey” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Resembling vomit in colour, texture, etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pukey · pukey · English

pukey · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for pukey
PropertyValue
Headwordpukey
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pukey” in English

pukeysits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pukey is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for pukey, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From puke + -y. Compare German Low German pukig (“sickly, unhealthy, ailing”). The correct English form is pukey, spelled P-U-K-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Resembling vomit in colour, texture, etc.
  2. 2
    Inclined to vomit; sick.
  3. 3
    Vile; contemptible.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The walls in this abandoned waiting area were painted a pukey orange, compounding the feeling of queasiness I'd had since breakfast.
  2. His heart was thumping harder than ever, and it was impossible to tell if the sickish, pukey feeling deep down in his belly was relief or terror.

Etymology

From puke + -y. Compare German Low German pukig (“sickly, unhealthy, ailing”).

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pukey"?
"pukey" is spelled P-U-K-E-Y.
What does "pukey" mean?
As an adjective, "pukey" means: Resembling vomit in colour, texture, etc.
What is the origin of the word "pukey"?
From puke + -y. Compare German Low German pukig (“sickly, unhealthy, ailing”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list