blackmail
/ˈblækˌmeɪl/
"blackmail" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“blackmail” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,181 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,181
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The extortion of money or favors by threats of public accusation, critique, or exposure.
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 | blackmail |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈblækˌmeɪl/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #16,181 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “blackmail” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for blackmail is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈblækˌmeɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,181 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 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for blackmail, with forms such as "balckmail", "bblackmail", and "blacckmail". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "blackman", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From black + mail (“a piece of money”). Compare Middle English blak rente (“a type of blackmail levied by Irish chieftains”). The word is variously derived from the tribute paid by English and Scottish border dwellers to border reivers in return for immunit… The correct English form is blackmail, spelled B-L-A-C-K-M-A-I-L.
Definition
- 1The extortion of money or favors by threats of public accusation, critique, or exposure.
- 2Compromising material that can be used to extort someone.
- 3Compromising material that can be used to extort someone.
- 4A form of protection money (or corn, cattle, etc.) anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to the allies of robbers in order to be spared from pillage.
- 5Black rent; rent paid in corn, meat, or the lowest coin, as opposed to white rent, which was paid in silver.
Etymology
From black + mail (“a piece of money”). Compare Middle English blak rente (“a type of blackmail levied by Irish chieftains”). The word is variously derived from the tribute paid by English and Scottish border dwellers to border reivers in return for immunity from raids and other harassment. This tribute was paid in goods or labour, in Latin reditus nigri (“black mail”); the opposite is blanche firmes or reditus albi (“white rent”), denoting payment by silver. McKay derives it from two Scottish Gaelic words blàthaich, pronounced (the th silent) bl-aich, "to protect" and màl (“tribute, payment”). He notes that the practice was common in the Scottish Highlands as well as the Borders. More likely, from black + Middle English mal, male, maile (“a payment, rent, tribute”), from Old English māl (“speech, contract, agreement, lawsuit, terms, bargaining”), from Old Norse mál (“agreement, speech, lawsuit”); related to Old English mæðel (“meeting, council”), mæl (“speech”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌸𐌻 (maþl, “meeting place”), from Proto-Germanic *maþlą (“gathering, agreement”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to give advice, measure”). From the practice of freebooting clan chieftains who ran protection rackets against Scottish farmers. Black from the evil of the practice. Expanded c. 1826 to any type of extortion money. Compare silver mail (“rent paid in money”) (1590s); buttock mail (“fine imposed for fornication”) (1530s, Scottish).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: balckmail,bblackmail,blacckmail,blackamil,blackkmail,blackmaill,blackmali,blackmial,blackmmail,blacmkail,blakcmail,blcakmail,bllackmail,lbackmail
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of blackmail - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “blackmail”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-L-A-C-K-M-A-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈblækˌmeɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “blackman” - see the side-by-side comparison. blackmail vs blackman
- 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.