puppy

/ˈpʌpi/

//ˈpʌpi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“puppy” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,174. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,174
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A young dog, especially before sexual maturity (12–18 months)

Corpus desk

Index EN-puppy · puppy · English

puppy · rank #7,174 · 6 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,174
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH punished

Nearest frequency peer: punished (-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 “puppy”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “puppy” 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).

puppy vs pups
60% similar
puppy vs pussy
60% similar
puppy vs pushy
60% similar

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

Key facts for puppy
PropertyValue
Headwordpuppy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpʌpi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,174
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “puppy”

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).puppylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “punished” (#7,173), “recruitment” (#7,175), “publicity” (#7,172). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “puppy” is #7,174. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around puppy (IPA /ˈpʌpi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,174 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for puppy, with forms such as "ppuppy", "ppupy", and "puppyy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "pups", "pussy", "pushy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier puppie (“a woman's pet dog”), of uncertain origin, but probably from Middle English *puppee, *poupee, from Old French poupée, popée (“a doll; puppet”). More at puppet. Mostly displaced native Middle English whelp (“puppy”), from Old English hwe… The correct English form is puppy, spelled P-U-P-P-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A young dog, especially before sexual maturity (12–18 months)
  2. 2
    A young rat.
  3. 3
    A young seal.
  4. 4
    A dog with a youthful appearance, or any dog.
  5. 5
    A woman’s breast.
  6. 6
    A (generic) thing; particularly something that is a nuisance; a sucker.
  7. 7
    A conceited and impertinent person, especially a young man.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Unclasp your bra and set those puppies free.
  2. I have another two dozen of these puppies to finish before I can go home.

Etymology

From earlier puppie (“a woman's pet dog”), of uncertain origin, but probably from Middle English *puppee, *poupee, from Old French poupée, popée (“a doll; puppet”). More at puppet. Mostly displaced native Middle English whelp (“puppy”), from Old English hwelp, whence Modern English whelp and whelpie.

Synonyms

doglingpupwhelpwhelpiepup

This word in other languages

cachorro(Español)chiot(Français)Welpe(Deutsch)cachorro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ppuppy
  • ppupy
  • puppyy
  • pupy
  • pupyp
  • upppy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of puppy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ppuppy1ppupy2puppyy1pupy1pupyp2upppy2
Edit distance from "puppy"

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 "puppy"?
"puppy" is spelled P-U-P-P-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpʌpi/.
What does "puppy" mean?
As a noun, "puppy" means: A young dog, especially before sexual maturity (12–18 months)
What words are commonly confused with "puppy"?
"puppy" is commonly confused with "pups", "pussy", "pushy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "puppy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "puppy" is /ˈpʌpi/. 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 "puppy"?
From earlier puppie (“a woman's pet dog”), of uncertain origin, but probably from Middle English *puppee, *poupee, from Old French poupée, popée (“a doll; puppet”). More at puppet. Mostly displaced native Middle English whelp (“puppy”), from Old E... 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 "puppy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

slice#7,180pause#7,166Spurs#7,182vinyl#7,189

Similar misspelling depth

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

tits6 variantsbent6 variantsKarl6 variantsjerk6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list