pulp

/pʌlp/

//pʌlp// noun

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

"pulp" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pulp” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,586. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,586
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pulp · pulp · English

pulp · rank #11,586 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,586
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH protector

Nearest frequency peer: protector (-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 “pulp”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pulp” 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).

pulp vs put
50% similar
pulp vs pup
75% similar
pulp vs pun
50% similar

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

Key facts for pulp
PropertyValue
Headwordpulp
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pʌlp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#11,586
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pulp”

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).pulplands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “protector” (#11,585), “procurement” (#11,584), “ransom” (#11,588). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pulp” is #11,586. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around pulp (IPA /pʌlp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,586 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for pulp, with forms such as "plup", "ppulp", and "pullp". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "put", "pup", "pun", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pulpe, from Latin pulpa. The correct English form is pulp, spelled P-U-L-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.
  2. 2
    A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.
  3. 3
    A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.
  4. 4
    A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.
  5. 5
    A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.
  6. 6
    A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.
  7. 7
    A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.
  8. 8
    A magazine or book containing lurid subject matter and characteristically printed on rough, unfinished paper.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. These sources do not, however, state why the drink is called lambswool. The name comes from the way the apples are roasted until they split open, and their pulp froths over the skin; this is used to float on top of the bowl of drink.
  2. The hard-hitting, action packed, thud and blunder adventure fantasy was a commodity during that somber decade: Americans paid money to forget their troubles, and the pulps were willing to sell.

Etymology

From Middle English pulpe, from Latin pulpa.

Synonyms

fleshmashpomace

This word in other languages

pulpa(Español)pulpe(Français)Fruchtfleisch(Deutsch)polpa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • plup
  • ppulp
  • pullp
  • pulpp
  • pupl
  • uplp

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

plup2ppulp1pullp1pulpp1pupl2uplp2
Edit distance from "pulp"

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 "pulp"?
"pulp" is spelled P-U-L-P. The IPA pronunciation is /pʌlp/.
What does "pulp" mean?
As a noun, "pulp" means: A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.
What words are commonly confused with "pulp"?
"pulp" is commonly confused with "put", "pup", "pun". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pulp"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pulp" is /pʌlp/. 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 "pulp"?
From Middle English pulpe, from Latin pulpa. 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 "pulp", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

reel#11,590refs#11,591pike#11,580mets#11,568

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

piper6 variantsobese6 variantsO'Neill6 variantsMarx6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list