autobahn
/ˈaʊ̯toˌbɑːn/
"autobahn" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“autobahn” is uncommon English (frequency #53,385 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #53,385
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The high-speed intercity highways of Germany and Austria.
Corpus desk
Index EN-autobahn · autobahn · English
autobahn · rank #53,385 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #53,385
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH austral
Nearest frequency peer: austral (-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 “autobahn”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- attractively
attractively
46,620 corpus weight
- Auch
Auch
46,619 corpus weight
- austral
austral
46,617 corpus weight
- autobahn
autobahn
46,616 corpus weight
- aviary
aviary
46,615 corpus weight
- baddie
baddie
46,613 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “autobahn” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | autobahn |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈaʊ̯toˌbɑːn/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #53,385 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “autobahn” in English
Rare enough to double-check
autobahn is uncommon English at frequency #53,385 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈaʊ̯toˌbɑːn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for autobahn in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Autobahn. The correct English form is autobahn, spelled A-U-T-O-B-A-H-N.
Definition
- 1The high-speed intercity highways of Germany and Austria.
- 2Any wide, high-speed road.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how autobahn appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
On a recent afternoon a work crew and crane were affixing the tall lettering to the side of the team’s new stadium, just off the autobahn in Sinsheim, a few miles from Hoffenheim.
Confusion reigned on German autobahns and highways at the start of one of the busiest holiday breaks of the year on Thursday after Google Maps wrongly indicated that vast swathes of them were closed.
Etymology
Borrowed from German Autobahn.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "autobahn", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).