asshole
/æshoʊl/
"asshole" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“asshole” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,998 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #3,998
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The anus.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | asshole |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /æshoʊl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #3,998 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “asshole” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for asshole is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /æshoʊl/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,998 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for asshole, with forms such as "ashole", "ashsole", and "asshhole". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "ashore", "arsehole", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Variant of earlier arsehole, from Middle English arshole, arcehoole, equivalent to ass + hole. Cognate with Norwegian rasshøl (“asshole”), Swedish arsle (“asshole”). Compare also German Arschloch (“asshole”). Attested from the 1370s, replacing earlier Old E… The correct English form is asshole, spelled A-S-S-H-O-L-E.
Definition
- 1The anus.
- 2A jerk; an inappropriately or objectionably mean, inconsiderate, contemptible, obnoxious, intrusive, stupid, or rude person.
- 3Anything (especially a place) that is unpleasant or undesirable.
Etymology
Variant of earlier arsehole, from Middle English arshole, arcehoole, equivalent to ass + hole. Cognate with Norwegian rasshøl (“asshole”), Swedish arsle (“asshole”). Compare also German Arschloch (“asshole”). Attested from the 1370s, replacing earlier Old English earsþyrel (“anus”, literally “ass hole”). First recorded in Middle English, as ers hole (Glouc. Cath. Manuscript 19. No. I., dated 1379, cited after OED), ars-hole (Bodleian Ashmole MS. 1396, dated ca. 1400, ed. Robert Von Fleischhacker as Lanfrank's "Science of Cirurgie", EETS 102, 1894, cited after OED.) Slang figurative usage dates to the 20th century; it was used of an uninviting place (compare shithole) in the 1920s, and then of an anti-social or despicable person from at least the 1950s (Harvard Advocate 137, March 1954). It is also used appositionally (as in "You're an asshole moralist", T. Chamales, 1957).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ashole,ashsole,asshhole,asshloe,asshoel,assholle,assohle,sashole
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of asshole - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “asshole”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-S-S-H-O-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /æshoʊl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ashore” - see the side-by-side comparison. asshole vs ashore
- 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.