PBS

\pe.be.ɛs\

/\pe.be.ɛs\/ name

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

The verdict

“PBS” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #33,820 in French word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#33,820
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Public Broadcasting Service, réseau public américain de télévision.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

PBS vs pu
0% similar
PBS vs PS
67% similar
PBS vs PQ
33% similar

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

Key facts for PBS
PropertyValue
HeadwordPBS
LanguageFrench
Part of speechProper noun
IPA\pe.be.ɛs\
Letters3
Frequency rank#33,820
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “PBS” sits in French 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). PBS 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 French entry for PBS is 3 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pe.be.ɛs\. Corpus data places it at rank #33,820 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Public Broadcasting Service, réseau public américain de télévision.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for PBS, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pu", "PS", "PQ", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is PBS, spelled P-B-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Public Broadcasting Service, réseau public américain de télévision.

This word in other languages

PBS(English)

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "PBS"?
"PBS" is spelled P-B-S. The IPA pronunciation is \pe.be.ɛs\.
What does "PBS" mean?
As a proper noun, "PBS" means: Public Broadcasting Service, réseau public américain de télévision.
What words are commonly confused with "PBS"?
"PBS" is commonly confused with "pu", "PS", "PQ". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "PBS"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "PBS" is \pe.be.ɛs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "PBS" come from?
"PBS" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “PBS”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-B-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pe.be.ɛs\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “pu” - see the side-by-side comparison. PBS vs pu
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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