put

/pʊt/

//pʊt// verb

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

"put" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“put” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #209 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#209
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To physically place (something or someone somewhere).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

put vs PV
0% similar
put vs PW
0% similar
put vs PX
0% similar

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

Key facts for put
PropertyValue
Headwordput
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pʊt/
Letters3
Frequency rank#209
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “put” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). put lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for put is 3 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pʊt/. Corpus data places it at rank #209 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for put in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PV", "PW", "PX", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English putten, puten, poten, from Old English putian, *pūtian ("to push, put out"; attested by derivative putung (“pushing, impulse, instigation, urging”)) and potian (“to push, thrust, strike, butt, goad”), both from Proto-West Germanic *putōn… The correct English form is put, spelled P-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To physically place (something or someone somewhere).
  2. 2
    To place in abstract; to attach or attribute; to assign.
  3. 3
    To bring or set (into a certain relation, state or condition).
  4. 4
    To express (something in a certain manner).
  5. 5
    To set before one for judgment, acceptance, or rejection; to bring to the attention.
  6. 6
    To set as a calculation or estimate.
  7. 7
    To steer; to direct one's course; to go.
  8. 8
    To sell (assets) under the terms of a put option.
  9. 9
    To throw with a pushing motion, especially in reference to the sport of shot put. (Do not confuse with putt.)
  10. 10
    To play a card or a hand in the game called "put".
  11. 11
    To lay down; to give up; to surrender.
  12. 12
    To incite; to entice; to urge; to constrain; to oblige.
  13. 13
    To convey coal in the mine, as for example from the working to the tramway.

Etymology

From Middle English putten, puten, poten, from Old English putian, *pūtian ("to push, put out"; attested by derivative putung (“pushing, impulse, instigation, urging”)) and potian (“to push, thrust, strike, butt, goad”), both from Proto-West Germanic *putōn, from Proto-Germanic *putōną (“to stick, stab”), which is of uncertain origin. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bud- (“to shoot, sprout”), which would make it cognate with Sanskrit बुन्द (bundá, “arrow”), Lithuanian budė, and budis (“mushroom, fungus”). Compare also related Old English pȳtan (“to push, poke, thrust, put out (the eyes)”). Cognate with Dutch poten (“to set, plant”), Low German paten (“to set, plant”), Danish putte (“to put”), Swedish putta, pötta, potta (“to strike, knock, push gently, shove, put away”), Norwegian putte (“to set, put”), Norwegian pota (“to poke”), Icelandic pota (“to poke”), Dutch peuteren (“to pick, poke around, dig, fiddle with”).

This word in other languages

poner(Español)placer(Français)setzen(Deutsch)pôr(Português)

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 "put"?
"put" is spelled P-U-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pʊt/.
What does "put" mean?
As a verb, "put" means: To physically place (something or someone somewhere).
What words are commonly confused with "put"?
"put" is commonly confused with "PV", "PW", "PX". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "put"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "put" is /pʊt/. 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 "put"?
From Middle English putten, puten, poten, from Old English putian, *pūtian ("to push, put out"; attested by derivative putung (“pushing, impulse, instigation, urging”)) and potian (“to push, thrust, strike, butt, goad”), both from Proto-West Germa... 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.

Using “put”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-U-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pʊt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “PV” - see the side-by-side comparison. put vs PV
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list