backswing
"backswing" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“backswing” is uncommon English (frequency #88,088 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #88,088
- frequency rank, English
- 31,241
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The preparatory stroke preceding that which produces contact with the target. Normally associated with sports using an implement such as a bat, club, racket or stick.
Corpus desk
Index EN-backswing · backswing · English
backswing · rank #88,088 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #88,088
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 31,241
- PHOTO-FINISH badmouth
Nearest frequency peer: badmouth (+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 “backswing”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- backswing
backswing
11,913 corpus weight
- badmouth
badmouth
11,912 corpus weight
- bagman
bagman
11,911 corpus weight
- bahu
bahu
11,909 corpus weight
- Bajan
Bajan
11,908 corpus weight
- Baptista
Baptista
11,907 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “backswing” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | backswing |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #88,088 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “backswing” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
backswing is uncommon English at frequency #88,088 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The preparatory stroke preceding that which produces contact with the target. Normally associated with sports using an implement such as a bat, club, racket or stick.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for backswing in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From back + swing. The correct English form is backswing, spelled B-A-C-K-S-W-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1The preparatory stroke preceding that which produces contact with the target. Normally associated with sports using an implement such as a bat, club, racket or stick.
Etymology
From back + swing.
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 "backswing", 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.