ackee

/ˈækiː/

//ˈækiː// noun

"ackee" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ackee” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tropical evergreen tree, Blighia sapida, related to the lychee and longan.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ackee · ackee · English

ackee · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for ackee
PropertyValue
Headwordackee
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈækiː/
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ackee” in English

ackeeranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ackee is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈækiː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for ackee in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Akan akye. The correct English form is ackee, spelled A-C-K-E-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tropical evergreen tree, Blighia sapida, related to the lychee and longan.
  2. 2
    The fruit of the tree, of which only the arils are edible, the remainder being poisonous.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The beautiful Akee (Blighia sapida), originally brought from the West Coast of Africa by slave ships, is now a common tree in the West Indies, and I noticed several fine specimens in Belize.
  2. Delano and I are sprawled out under the ackee tree watching the black ants march from one rotten ackee pod to the next.

Etymology

From Akan akye.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ackee"?
"ackee" is spelled A-C-K-E-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈækiː/.
What does "ackee" mean?
As a noun, "ackee" means: A tropical evergreen tree, Blighia sapida, related to the lychee and longan.
How do you pronounce "ackee"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ackee" is /ˈækiː/. 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 "ackee"?
From Akan akye. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list