airless

/ˈɛə.ləs/

//ˈɛə.ləs// adj

"airless" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“airless” is uncommon English (frequency #65,679 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,679
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lacking or being without air.

Corpus desk

Index EN-airless · airless · English

airless · rank #65,679 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,679
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH airhead

Nearest frequency peer: airhead (-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 “airless”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for airless
PropertyValue
Headwordairless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɛə.ləs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#65,679
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “airless” 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).airlessfalls 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: “airhead” (#65,678), “airworthiness” (#65,680), “aioli” (#65,677). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “airless” is #65,679. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

airless is uncommon English at frequency #65,679 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈɛə.ləs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for airless, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From air + -less. The correct English form is airless, spelled A-I-R-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lacking or being without air.
  2. 2
    Lacking air circulation.
  3. 3
    With air that is stale.
  4. 4
    Suffering from asphyxia.
  5. 5
    Stifling; dead; lacking vitality or excitement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.
  2. The worst that can—and has—been said about Memento is that it’s an airless gimmick, visually undistinguished, and not even all that sophisticated when the puzzle pieces are finally put together.

Etymology

From air + -less.

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 "airless"?
"airless" is spelled A-I-R-L-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɛə.ləs/.
What does "airless" mean?
As an adjective, "airless" means: Lacking or being without air.
How do you pronounce "airless"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "airless" is /ˈɛə.ləs/. 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 "airless"?
From air + -less. 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 "airless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list