accost

/əˈkɔst/

//əˈkɔst// verb

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

"accost" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“accost” is uncommon English (frequency #98,935 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,935
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with a demand or request.

Corpus desk

Index EN-accost · accost · English

accost · rank #98,935 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,935
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Abramoff

Nearest frequency peer: Abramoff (-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 “accost”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “accost” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for accost
PropertyValue
Headwordaccost
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈkɔst/
Letters6
Frequency rank#98,935
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “accost” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).accostfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Abramoff” (#98,934), “adventitious” (#98,938), “aetiology” (#98,939). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “accost” is #98,935. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

accost is uncommon English at frequency #98,935 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /əˈkɔst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 8 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for accost, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French accoster, acoster, from Old French acoster (“to stand beside”) (whence Medieval Latin accostare), from Old French a- + coste (“side, flank”). The correct English form is accost, spelled A-C-C-O-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with a demand or request.
  2. 2
    To join side to side; to border.
  3. 3
    To sail along the coast or side of.
  4. 4
    To approach; to come up to.
  5. 5
    To speak to first; to address; to greet.
  6. 6
    To adjoin; to lie alongside.
  7. 7
    To assault.
  8. 8
    To solicit sexually.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A beggar accosted me as soon as I stepped outside.
  2. You mistake, knight. ‘Accost’ is front / her, board her, woo her, assail her.

Etymology

From Middle French accoster, acoster, from Old French acoster (“to stand beside”) (whence Medieval Latin accostare), from Old French a- + coste (“side, flank”).

Synonyms

waylay

This word in other languages

embestir(Español)accoster(Français)bedrängen(Deutsch)abordar(Português)

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 "accost"?
"accost" is spelled A-C-C-O-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈkɔst/.
What does "accost" mean?
As a verb, "accost" means: To approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with a demand or request.
How do you pronounce "accost"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "accost" is /əˈkɔst/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "accost"?
From Middle French accoster, acoster, from Old French acoster (“to stand beside”) (whence Medieval Latin accostare), from Old French a- + coste (“side, flank”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

yonsei#98,910anoxia#98,968whinny#98,888Wexner#98,886

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list