poussoir

\pu.swaʁ\

/\pu.swaʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“poussoir” is uncommon French (frequency #71,814 among 248,534 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,814
frequency rank, French
248,534
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pièce destinée à transmettre une poussée, en particulier pour commander l’ouverture ou la fermeture d’une soupape.

Key facts for poussoir
PropertyValue
Headwordpoussoir
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pu.swaʁ\
Letters8
Frequency rank#71,814
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “poussoir” 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). poussoir lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

poussoir is uncommon French at frequency #71,814 among 248,534 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \pu.swaʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for poussoir in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is poussoir, spelled P-O-U-S-S-O-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pièce destinée à transmettre une poussée, en particulier pour commander l’ouverture ou la fermeture d’une soupape.
  2. 2
    Bouton sur lequel on appuie pour enclencher ou interrompre un fonctionnement.
  3. 3
    Cylindre terminé par un bouton qu’on pousse pour activer une fonction d’une montre.
  4. 4
    Tout instrument servant à pousser hors de l’œsophage ou d’ailleurs les corps étrangers.
  5. 5
    Appareil servant à embosser la chair dans un boyau.
  6. 6
    Outil emmanché destiné à repousser la neige sur le sol.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "poussoir"?
"poussoir" is spelled P-O-U-S-S-O-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is \pu.swaʁ\.
What does "poussoir" mean?
As a noun, "poussoir" means: Pièce destinée à transmettre une poussée, en particulier pour commander l’ouverture ou la fermeture d’une soupape.
How do you pronounce "poussoir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "poussoir" is \pu.swaʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "poussoir" come from?
"poussoir" 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 “poussoir”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-O-U-S-S-O-I-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pu.swaʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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