at a loss
"at-a-loss" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“at a loss” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a prep_phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Below the cost or price of purchase.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | at a loss |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “at a loss” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for at a loss is 9 letters long, classified as a prep_phrase. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for at a loss in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is at a loss, spelled A-T- -A- -L-O-S-S.
Definition
- 1Below the cost or price of purchase.
- 2Not sure; uncertain; lacking further ideas, direction, or ability.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “at a loss”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-T- -A- -L-O-S-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.