pun
/pʌn/verb, noun
pun is spelled P-U-N: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, pun means “To make or tell a pun; to make a play on words” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pun?
| Letters | 3: P-U-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 13,897th 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 pun?
Pun appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th 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 pun?
- US /pʌn/
- /pʊn/
Pun has one syllable (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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pun.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pun
Also written: bun.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with pun?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pun from its last stressed vowel (/ʌn/):
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 pun
- puns present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- punning participle, present
- punned participle, past
- pund
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pun mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo beat; strike with force; to ram; to pound, as in a mortar; reduce to powder, to pulverize.
- 2
To make or tell a pun; to make a play on words.
We punned about the topic until all around us groaned.
noun
- 1
A joke or type of wordplay in which similar definitions or sounds of two words or phrases, or different definitions of the same word, are deliberately confused.
The pun is the lowest form of wit.
- 2
IndiaA certain number of cowries, generally 80.
- 3
Alternative form of bun (“Korean unit of measure”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pun in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | kalauern , Wortspiel, Kalauer |
| Portuguese | fazer um trocadilho, trocadilhar , trocadilho, chalaça |
| Spanish | alburear , calambur, albur, retruécano |
| French | calembour, jeu de mots |
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 pun come from?
From Middle English ponnen, ponen, punen, from Old English punian, pūnian (“to pound, beat, bray, bruise, crush, grind”), from Proto-Germanic *punōną (“to break to pieces, pulverize”). See pound. As a kind of word play, from the notion of “beating” the words into place.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).