barrack
/ˈbæɹ.ək/
"barrack" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“barrack” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #37,334 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #37,334
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | barrack |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbæɹ.ək/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #37,334 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “barrack” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for barrack is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbæɹ.ək/. Corpus data places it at rank #37,334 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for barrack, with forms such as "abrrack", "bararck", and "barracck". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "barrage", "barracks", "barra", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French baraque, from Spanish barraca or Catalan barraca, which is of uncertain origin. It is probably either a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *barra (“bar”), of unclear origin, or a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *barrum (“clay, mud”) from Celtiberian… The correct English form is barrack, spelled B-A-R-R-A-C-K.
Definition
- 1A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings.
- 2A primitive structure resembling a long shed or barn for (usually temporary) housing or other purposes.
- 3Any very plain, monotonous, or ugly large building.
- 4A (structure with a) movable roof sliding on four posts, to cover hay, straw, etc.
- 5A police station.
Etymology
Borrowed from French baraque, from Spanish barraca or Catalan barraca, which is of uncertain origin. It is probably either a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *barra (“bar”), of unclear origin, or a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *barrum (“clay, mud”) from Celtiberian or Paleo-Hispanic.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: abrrack,bararck,barracck,barrackk,barrakc,barrcak,bbarrack,brarack
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of barrack - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
How do you spell "barrack"?
What does "barrack" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "barrack"?
How do you pronounce "barrack"?
What is the origin of the word "barrack"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “barrack”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-A-R-R-A-C-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbæɹ.ək/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “barrage” - see the side-by-side comparison. barrack vs barrage
- 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.