albatross
/ˈæl.bəˌtɹɒs/
"albatross" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“albatross” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,669. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #32,669
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 12
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various large seabirds of the family Diomedeidae ranging widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific and having a hooked beak and long narrow wings.
Corpus desk
Index EN-albatross · albatross · English
albatross · rank #32,669 · 12 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-MID #32,669
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-MID 12 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH aggrieved
Nearest frequency peer: aggrieved (-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.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “albatross”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- abram
abram
67,336 corpus weight
- Adonis
Adonis
67,334 corpus weight
- aggrieved
aggrieved
67,333 corpus weight
- albatross
albatross
67,332 corpus weight
- Alina
Alina
67,331 corpus weight
- Amal
Amal
67,329 corpus weight
What this shows “albatross” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | albatross |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈæl.bəˌtɹɒs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #32,669 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “albatross”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 12 spelling variants around albatross (IPA /ˈæl.bəˌtɹɒs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #32,669 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for albatross, with forms such as "ablatross", "alabtross", and "albartoss". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Uncertain. Probably from Spanish or Portuguese alcatraz (“pelican, gannet, albatross”), probably derived from Arabic الْغَطَّاس (al-ḡaṭṭās, “the diver”) (compare Alcatraz); or from Portuguese alcatruz (“water wheel bucket”), from Arabic الْقَادُوس (al-qādūs… The correct English form is albatross, spelled A-L-B-A-T-R-O-S-S.
Definition
- 1Any of various large seabirds of the family Diomedeidae ranging widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific and having a hooked beak and long narrow wings.
- 2Any of various African and Asian pierid butterflies of the genus Appias. Some species of this genus are also known as puffins.
- 3A double eagle, or three under par on any one hole, except a par 3 hole.
- 4A long-term impediment, burden, or curse.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how albatross appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
2006 March 13, Richard Lugar, speech to the Brookings Institution, […] energy is the albatross of U.S. national security.
Project 2025 could be an albatross for Trump
Etymology
Uncertain. Probably from Spanish or Portuguese alcatraz (“pelican, gannet, albatross”), probably derived from Arabic الْغَطَّاس (al-ḡaṭṭās, “the diver”) (compare Alcatraz); or from Portuguese alcatruz (“water wheel bucket”), from Arabic الْقَادُوس (al-qādūs), from Ancient Greek κάδος (kádos, “pail, jar”), in reference to the pouch of a pelican. In either case, altered under the influence of Latin albus (“white”). Not derived from modern Arabic قَطْرَس (qaṭras, “albatross”), which is perhaps borrowed from Spanish. For sense development of "burden", see albatross around one’s neck.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ablatross
- alabtross
- albartoss
- albatorss
- albatros
- albatrross
- albatrsos
- albattross
- albbatross
- albtaross
- allbatross
- labatross
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of albatross - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "albatross", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).