puts

/pʊts/

//pʊts// verb

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

The verdict

“puts” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,852 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#2,852
frequency rank, English
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - third-person singular simple present indicative of put

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

puts vs putt
75% similar
puts vs putty
60% similar
puts vs pt
50% similar

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

Key facts for puts
PropertyValue
Headwordputs
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pʊts/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,852
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “puts” 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). puts 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 puts is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pʊts/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,852 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "third-person singular simple present indicative of put".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for puts, with forms such as "pputs", "ptus", and "pust". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "putt", "putty", "pt", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is puts, spelled P-U-T-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    third-person singular simple present indicative of put

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: pputs,ptus,pust,putss,putts,upts

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

pputs1ptus2pust2putss1putts1upts2
Edit distance from "puts"

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 "puts"?
"puts" is spelled P-U-T-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pʊts/.
What does "puts" mean?
As a verb, "puts" means: third-person singular simple present indicative of put
What words are commonly confused with "puts"?
"puts" is commonly confused with "putt", "putty", "pt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "puts"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "puts" is /pʊts/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "puts" come from?
"puts" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “puts”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-U-T-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pʊts/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “putt” - see the side-by-side comparison. puts vs putt
  • 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