ambergris
/ˈæm.bɚ.ɡɹɪs/
"ambergris" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ambergris” is uncommon English (frequency #79,246 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #79,246
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 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.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ambergris · ambergris · English
ambergris · rank #79,246 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #79,246
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH ampersand
Nearest frequency peer: ampersand (+2 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 “ambergris”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Akhenaten
Akhenaten
20,765 corpus weight
- Alcala
Alcala
20,760 corpus weight
- ambergris
ambergris
20,755 corpus weight
- ampersand
ampersand
20,753 corpus weight
- anan
anan
20,750 corpus weight
- Angier
Angier
20,748 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “ambergris” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| 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) |
Long-tail rank of “ambergris” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ambergris is uncommon English at frequency #79,246 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈæm.bɚ.ɡɹɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ambergris appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Your onely way to make a good pomander, is this. Take an ownce of the pureſt garden mould, clenſed and ſteeped ſeauen daies in change of motherleſſe roſe water, then take the beſt Labdanum, Benioine, both Storaxes, amber greece, and Ciuet, and muſke, incorporate them together, and work them into what form you pleaſe; this, if your breath bee not to valian…
And as for the other whale, why, I’ll agree to get more oil by chopping up and trying out these three masts of ours, than he’ll get from that bundle of bones; though, now that I think of it, it may contain something worth a good deal more than oil; yes, ambergris.
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
How do you spell "ambergris"?
What does "ambergris" mean?
How do you pronounce "ambergris"?
What is the origin of the word "ambergris"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ambergris", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).