arugula

/əˈɹuɡələ/

//əˈɹuɡələ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“arugula” is uncommon English (frequency #55,245 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,245
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A yellowish-flowered Mediterranean herb of the mustard family with flavoured leaves, often eaten in salads, that has a distinct, peppery flavor, of three species:

Corpus desk

Index EN-arugula · arugula · English

arugula · rank #55,245 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,245
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Arles

Nearest frequency peer: Arles (-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 “arugula”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for arugula
PropertyValue
Headwordarugula
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈɹuɡələ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#55,245
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “arugula” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).arugulafalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Arles” (#55,244), “Asante” (#55,246), “ards” (#55,243). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “arugula” is #55,245. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

arugula is uncommon English at frequency #55,245 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˈɹuɡələ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for arugula in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Probably from a Southern Italian dialect word equivalent to Standard Italian rucola, whence also, since c. 1967, English rucola. Also cognate to rocket (“plant”), eruca, roquette. The correct English form is arugula, spelled A-R-U-G-U-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A yellowish-flowered Mediterranean herb of the mustard family with flavoured leaves, often eaten in salads, that has a distinct, peppery flavor, of three species:
  2. 2
    A yellowish-flowered Mediterranean herb of the mustard family with flavoured leaves, often eaten in salads, that has a distinct, peppery flavor, of three species:

Etymology

Probably from a Southern Italian dialect word equivalent to Standard Italian rucola, whence also, since c. 1967, English rucola. Also cognate to rocket (“plant”), eruca, roquette.

Synonyms

rugolarugulagarden rocketrocketgarden rocketrocketerucarocketsaladsalad rocketrucolarucolirugulacolewortroquetteperennial wall-rocket

This word in other languages

rúcula(Español)roquette(Français)Rauke(Deutsch)rúcula(Português)

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 "arugula"?
"arugula" is spelled A-R-U-G-U-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈɹuɡələ/.
What does "arugula" mean?
As a noun, "arugula" means: A yellowish-flowered Mediterranean herb of the mustard family with flavoured leaves, often eaten in salads, that has a distinct, peppery flavor, of three species:
How do you pronounce "arugula"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "arugula" is /əˈɹuɡələ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "arugula"?
Probably from a Southern Italian dialect word equivalent to Standard Italian rucola, whence also, since c. 1967, English rucola. Also cognate to rocket (“plant”), eruca, roquette. 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 "arugula", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Baileys#55,258bambino#55,259Bartolo#55,263beleive#55,269

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list