backspace
/ˈbækˌspeɪs/
"backspace" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“backspace” is uncommon English (frequency #76,555 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #76,555
- frequency rank, English
- 31,241
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The key on a typewriter that moves the head one position backwards.
Corpus desk
Index EN-backspace · backspace · English
backspace · rank #76,555 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #76,555
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 31,241
- PHOTO-FINISH bacteriophage
Nearest frequency peer: bacteriophage (+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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “backspace”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- auxin
auxin
23,451 corpus weight
- Avoca
Avoca
23,449 corpus weight
- Baar
Baar
23,448 corpus weight
- backspace
backspace
23,446 corpus weight
- bacteriopha…
bacteriophage
23,445 corpus weight
- baile
baile
23,442 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “backspace” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | backspace |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbækˌspeɪs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #76,555 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “backspace” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
backspace is uncommon English at frequency #76,555 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbækˌspeɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for backspace in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From back + space. The correct English form is backspace, spelled B-A-C-K-S-P-A-C-E.
Definition
- 1The key on a typewriter that moves the head one position backwards.
- 2A keyboard key used for removing a character behind the cursor, and moving the cursor one position backwards.
- 3A non-printable text character representing a backspace.
Etymology
From back + space.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "backspace", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency 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.