putz
/pʌts/
"putz" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“putz” is uncommon English (frequency #70,183 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #70,183
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A fool, an idiot.
Corpus desk
Index EN-putz · putz · English
putz · rank #70,183 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #70,183
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH purred
Nearest frequency peer: purred (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “putz”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- premarket
premarket
29,823 corpus weight
- privet
privet
29,822 corpus weight
- problema
problema
29,821 corpus weight
- purred
purred
29,819 corpus weight
- putz
putz
29,818 corpus weight
- pyrrhic
pyrrhic
29,817 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “putz” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | putz |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pʌts/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #70,183 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “putz” in English
Rare enough to double-check
putz is uncommon English at frequency #70,183 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pʌts/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for putz, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Yiddish פּאָץ (pots, “penis, fool”). Compare similar semantic developments in futz. The correct English form is putz, spelled P-U-T-Z.
Definition
- 1A fool, an idiot.
- 2A jerk.
- 3The penis.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how putz appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
“The excitement of our friendship made me overlook my vampire powers.” “Hi.” “My foreskin grew back very fast. Now he thinks I'm meshuggener, which means he thinks I'm a little bit of a putz.”
And, (4), we’re not really even seeing “characters” at all: it’s not Major Frank Burns, pathetic self-important putz from Fort Wayne, Indiana; it’s Larry Linville of Ojai, California, actor stoic enough to endure thousands of letters (still coming in, even in syndication) from pseudo-voyeurs berating him for being a putz from Indiana.
Etymology
Borrowed from Yiddish פּאָץ (pots, “penis, fool”). Compare similar semantic developments in futz.
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "putz", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).