blackhead

/ˈblæk.hɛd/

//ˈblæk.hɛd// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"blackhead" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“blackhead” is uncommon English (frequency #85,042 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,042
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A type of comedo, a skin blemish, a type of acne vulgaris, where a pore becomes clogged with a dark, hard, cheesy keratin-filled substance forming a hard black "head" on the skin's surface.

Corpus desk

Index EN-blackhead · blackhead · English

blackhead · rank #85,042 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,042
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH blackening

Nearest frequency peer: blackening (-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 “blackhead”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “blackhead” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for blackhead
PropertyValue
Headwordblackhead
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈblæk.hɛd/
Letters9
Frequency rank#85,042
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “blackhead” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).blackheadfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “blackening” (#85,041), “bleakness” (#85,043), “bittern” (#85,040). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blackhead” is #85,042. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

blackhead is uncommon English at frequency #85,042 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈblæk.hɛd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for blackhead, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From black + head. The correct English form is blackhead, spelled B-L-A-C-K-H-E-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A type of comedo, a skin blemish, a type of acne vulgaris, where a pore becomes clogged with a dark, hard, cheesy keratin-filled substance forming a hard black "head" on the skin's surface.
  2. 2
    A form of histomoniasis in poultry, characterized by cyanotic discoloration on the bird's head.
  3. 3
    A scaup: any of various ducks of the genus Aythya.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how blackhead appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. See there! A son is born And we pronounce him fit to fight There are blackheads on his shoulders And he pees himself in the night.
  2. Wallace sees a cluster of tiny blackheads at the corner of his nose.

Etymology

From black + head.

This word in other languages

espinilla(Español)point noir(Français)Mitesser(Deutsch)cravo(Português)

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 "blackhead"?
"blackhead" is spelled B-L-A-C-K-H-E-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblæk.hɛd/.
What does "blackhead" mean?
As a noun, "blackhead" means: A type of comedo, a skin blemish, a type of acne vulgaris, where a pore becomes clogged with a dark, hard, cheesy keratin-filled substance forming a hard black "head" on the skin's surface.
How do you pronounce "blackhead"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blackhead" is /ˈblæk.hɛd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "blackhead"?
From black + head. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "blackhead", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bleakness#85,043Bourgogne#85,055Baltistan#85,016campanile#85,080

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list