arcuate

adj

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

The verdict

“arcuate” is uncommon English (frequency #71,283 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,283
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - curved into the shape of a bow.

Corpus desk

Index EN-arcuate · arcuate · English

arcuate · rank #71,283 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #71,283
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Arai

Nearest frequency peer: Arai (-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 “arcuate”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for arcuate
PropertyValue
Headwordarcuate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters7
Frequency rank#71,283
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “arcuate” 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).arcuatefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Arai” (#71,282), “antisense” (#71,279), “armbar” (#71,287). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “arcuate” is #71,283. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

arcuate is uncommon English at frequency #71,283 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "curved into the shape of a bow.".

arcuate has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin arcuātus. The correct English form is arcuate, spelled A-R-C-U-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    curved into the shape of a bow.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. arcuate stalks
  2. The cause of the confusion in sounds, and the inconfusion in species visible, is, for that the sight worketh in right lines, and so there can be no coincidence in the eye; but sounds that move in oblique and arcuate lines, must needs encounter and disturb the one the other.

Etymology

From Latin arcuātus.

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 "arcuate"?
"arcuate" is spelled A-R-C-U-A-T-E.
What does "arcuate" mean?
As an adjective, "arcuate" means: curved into the shape of a bow.
What is the origin of the word "arcuate"?
From Latin arcuātus. 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 "arcuate", 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