backgammon
/ˈbæk.ɡæm.ən/
"backgammon" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“backgammon” is uncommon English (frequency #55,934 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #55,934
- frequency rank, English
- 31,241
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A board game for two players in which each has 15 stones which move between 24 triangular points according to the roll of a pair of dice; the object is to move all of one's pieces around, and bear ...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | backgammon |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbæk.ɡæm.ən/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #55,934 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “backgammon” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
backgammon is uncommon English at frequency #55,934 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbæk.ɡæm.ən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
backgammon has no tracked misspelling variants, 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: Probably from back + Middle English gamen, from Old English gamen (“amusement, game”). The correct English form is backgammon, spelled B-A-C-K-G-A-M-M-O-N.
Definition
- 1A board game for two players in which each has 15 stones which move between 24 triangular points according to the roll of a pair of dice; the object is to move all of one's pieces around, and bear them off the board.
- 2A victory in the game when the loser has not borne off a stone, and still has one or more stones in the winner's inner home row or on the bar.
Etymology
Probably from back + Middle English gamen, from Old English gamen (“amusement, game”).
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); 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 “backgammon”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-A-C-K-G-A-M-M-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbæk.ɡæm.ən/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.