ambergris
/ˈæm.bɚ.ɡɹɪs/
"ambergris" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ambergris” is an uncommon English word, ranked #79,246 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #79,246
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish color, produced in the intestines of the sperm whale. It is used in perfumes.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ambergris |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈæm.bɚ.ɡɹɪs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #79,246 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ambergris” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ambergris is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæm.bɚ.ɡɹɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #79,246 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish color, produced in the intestines of the sperm whale. It is used in perfumes.".
No misspelling variants are generated for ambergris in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French ambre gris (“grey amber”). Though the term was initially spaced as two words, single-word forms predominated by the 19th century. In the 17th century, folk etymologies interpreting the term as amber grease or amber [of] Greece enjoyed some p… The correct English form is ambergris, spelled A-M-B-E-R-G-R-I-S.
Definition
- 1A solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish color, produced in the intestines of the sperm whale. It is used in perfumes.
Etymology
From Old French ambre gris (“grey amber”). Though the term was initially spaced as two words, single-word forms predominated by the 19th century. In the 17th century, folk etymologies interpreting the term as amber grease or amber [of] Greece enjoyed some popularity.
Synonyms
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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “ambergris”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-M-B-E-R-G-R-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæm.bɚ.ɡɹɪs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.