attaboy
/ˈætəˌbɔɪ/
"attaboy" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“attaboy” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an interjection - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy, man, or male animal.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | attaboy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /ˈætəˌbɔɪ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “attaboy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for attaboy is 7 letters long, classified as an interjection, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈætəˌbɔɪ/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy, man, or male animal.".
Zero misspellings are on record for attaboy in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: A variant pronunciation of That's the boy!, a cry of encouragement, especially to children and pet dogs. The correct English form is attaboy, spelled A-T-T-A-B-O-Y.
Definition
- 1Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy, man, or male animal.
Etymology
A variant pronunciation of That's the boy!, a cry of encouragement, especially to children and pet dogs.
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 “attaboy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-T-T-A-B-O-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈætəˌbɔɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.