around the clock

prep_phrase

"around-the-clock" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“around the clock” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - All the time, or seemingly all the time; constantly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-around-the-clock · around the clock · English

around the clock · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for around the clock
PropertyValue
Headwordaround the clock
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrep_phrase
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “around the clock” sits in English frequency

around the clock falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

around the clock is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "All the time, or seemingly all the time; constantly.".

around the clock doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is around the clock, spelled A-R-O-U-N-D- -T-H-E- -C-L-O-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    All the time, or seemingly all the time; constantly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. They worked around the clock to finish the project on time.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "around the clock"?
"around the clock" is spelled A-R-O-U-N-D- -T-H-E- -C-L-O-C-K.
What does "around the clock" mean?
As a prep_phrase, "around the clock" means: All the time, or seemingly all the time; constantly.
What language does "around the clock" come from?
"around the clock" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list