pulley
/ˈpʊli/noun, verb
pulley is spelled P-U-L-L-E-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pulley means “One of the simple machines; a sheave, a wheel with a grooved rim, in which a pulled rope or chain lifts an object (more useful when two or more…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pulley is pulleys; Wiktionary also lists pullies (obsolete).
How many letters and syllables are in pulley?
| Letters | 6: P-U-L-L-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pulley?
Pulley appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pulley?
- US /ˈpʊli/
- British /ˈpɵlɪj/
- /ˈpʉle/
Pulley has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pulley.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pulley?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pulley from its last stressed vowel (/ʊli/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of pulley
- pulleys plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pulleying participle, present
- pulleyed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pulley mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One of the simple machines; a sheave, a wheel with a grooved rim, in which a pulled rope or chain lifts an object (more useful when two or more pulleys are used together, as in a block and tackle arrangement, such that a small force moving through a greater distance can exert a larger force through a smaller distance).
- 2
Annular ligament of the finger.
verb
- 1
To raise or lift by means of a pulley.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pulley in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one of simple machines:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | poulie |
| German | Rolle, Seilrolle, Seilscheibe, Laufrolle, Flaschenzug, Riemenscheibe |
| Portuguese | roldana, polia |
| Spanish | polea, roldana, garrucha, trocla, carrillo, motón |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pulley come from?
From Middle English puly, poley, from Old French poulie, polie (“a pulley, windlass”), from Medieval Latin polidia, plural mistaken for the feminine of neuter polidium, from Ancient Greek πολίδιον (polídion, “little pivot”), diminutive of πόλος (pólos, “pivot, hinge, axis”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to turn”). Associated with pull (verb) by folk etymology.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).