plomb

\plɔ̃\

/\plɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“plomb” has 8 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #5,484. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,484
frequency rank, French
6,826
“P” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Élément chimique de symbole Pb et de numéro atomique 82; il appartient à la série chimique des métaux pauvres.

Corpus desk

Index FR-plomb · plomb · French

plomb · rank #5,484 · 8 variants · 14 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,484
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,826
  • PHOTO-FINISH pari

Nearest frequency peer: pari (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “plomb”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “plomb” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

plomb vs pom
60% similar
plomb vs plon
60% similar
plomb vs plot
60% similar

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

Key facts for plomb
PropertyValue
Headwordplomb
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\plɔ̃\
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,484
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “plomb” se place dans la fréquence du français

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.plombse place ici:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « pari » (#5,483), « Ottawa » (#5,482), « possèdent » (#5,486). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around plomb (IPA \plɔ̃\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,484 among 6,826 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for plomb, with forms such as "lpomb", "pllomb", and "plmob". 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 14 confusable-pair relationships, "pom", "plon", "plot", 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 easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is plomb, spelled P-L-O-M-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    Élément chimique de symbole Pb et de numéro atomique 82; il appartient à la série chimique des métaux pauvres.
  2. 2
    Corps simple métallique de cet élément d’un blanc bleuâtre, très mou.
  3. 3
    Balles, lingots ou petits grains de plomb qu’on emploie à la chasse, pour charger les armes à feu.
  4. 4
    Composition même.
  5. 5
    Petit sceau de plomb que, dans les douanes, on attache aux ballots, caisses, etc., pour attester qu’ils ont payé les droits, ou pour empêcher qu’ils ne soient ouverts avant d’être arrivés au lieu de leur destination.
  6. 6
    Morceau de plomb, ou d’autre métal, suspendu au fil à plomb dont les maçons, les charpentiers, etc., se servent pour élever leurs ouvrages verticalement. Fil à plomb.
  7. 7
    , Fusible, fil de plomb intercalé dans une installation électrique de manière à éviter, par sa fusion, en cas de court-circuit, des accidents plus graves.
  8. 8
    Cuvettes, ordinairement de plomb, établies aux différents étages d’une maison, pour y jeter les eaux sales.
  9. 9
    Acide sulfhydrique qui se dégage des fosses d’aisances et des puits.
  10. 10
    Intoxication causée par les émanations des fosses d’aisances.
  11. 11
    Accessoire en plomb, de formes diverses, utilisé pour lester une ligne ou un engin de pêche en général.
  12. 12
    Accessoire en plomb, utilisé pour lester un plongeur.
  13. 13
    Symbole de ce qui est lourd et opaque. → voir chaleur de plomb, soleil de plomb et sommeil de plomb
  14. 14
    Maladie cryptogamique des arbres fruitiers, due à Chondrostereum purpureum, elle donne une couleur gris plombé aux feuilles.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Les schistes noirs, riches en pyrites et en matières organiques, seraient riches en plomb (30 mg/kg).
  2. Dans l’environnement, le plomb se présente sous forme de plomb métallique, d’ions et de sels inorganiques ainsi que de composés organométalliques. Il se trouve en faible quantité dans de nombreux alliages tels que le laiton, le bronze et la soudure à l’étain. La contamination d’aliments par le plomb métallique se réduit généralement à la présence de plomb…

Synonyms

aabamsaturnePb♄

This word in other languages

lead(English)plomo(Español)Blei(Deutsch)chumbo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpomb
  • pllomb
  • plmob
  • plobm
  • plombb
  • plommb
  • polmb
  • pplomb

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of plomb - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

lpomb2pllomb1plmob2plobm2plombb1plommb1polmb2pplomb1
Edit distance from "plomb"

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 "plomb"?
"plomb" is spelled P-L-O-M-B. The IPA pronunciation is \plɔ̃\.
What does "plomb" mean?
As a noun, "plomb" means: Élément chimique de symbole Pb et de numéro atomique 82; il appartient à la série chimique des métaux pauvres.
What words are commonly confused with "plomb"?
"plomb" is commonly confused with "pom", "plon", "plot". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "plomb"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "plomb" is \plɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "plomb" come from?
"plomb" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "plomb", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

mixte#5,479messe#5,478kilos#5,472joues#5,471

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

moulin8 variantsjaloux8 variantsintime8 variantsgoûts8 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "plomb". Here's where to go from here.

  • "plomb" maps to 14 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "pom". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #5,484 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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