bobtail

/ˈbɑbteɪl/

//ˈbɑbteɪl// noun

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

"bobtail" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bobtail” is uncommon English (frequency #97,864 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,864
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A short, or deliberately shortened tail.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bobtail · bobtail · English

bobtail · rank #97,864 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #97,864
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH boatwright

Nearest frequency peer: boatwright (-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 “bobtail”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for bobtail
PropertyValue
Headwordbobtail
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɑbteɪl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#97,864
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “bobtail” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).bobtailfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “boatwright” (#97,863), “Bohan” (#97,865), “boli” (#97,866). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bobtail” is #97,864. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bobtail is uncommon English at frequency #97,864 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɑbteɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 8 senses are on record.

bobtail has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From bob + tail. The correct English form is bobtail, spelled B-O-B-T-A-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A short, or deliberately shortened tail.
  2. 2
    An animal that has a bobtail, such as certain canines or nags.
  3. 3
    A tractor which performs without its trailer.
  4. 4
    A tractor-trailer that is relatively short in length.
  5. 5
    A tractor-trailer that is relatively short in length.
  6. 6
    An open-ended straight or four flush.
  7. 7
    A bobtail squid.
  8. 8
    A bobtail skink.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. a bobtail flush

Etymology

From bob + tail.

This word in other languages

colín(Español)

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 "bobtail"?
"bobtail" is spelled B-O-B-T-A-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɑbteɪl/.
What does "bobtail" mean?
As a noun, "bobtail" means: A short, or deliberately shortened tail.
How do you pronounce "bobtail"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bobtail" is /ˈbɑbteɪl/. 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 "bobtail"?
From bob + tail. 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 "bobtail", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Bloxham#97,860Blitzen#97,856benzoic#97,845Benicia#97,844

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list