brand spanking new

adj

"brand-spanking-new" is a 16-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“brand spanking new” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Utterly new, as new as possible.

Corpus desk

Index EN-brand-spanking-new · brand spanking new · English

brand spanking new · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 18 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for brand spanking new
PropertyValue
Headwordbrand spanking new
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “brand spanking new” in English

brand spanking newfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

brand spanking new is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Utterly new, as new as possible.".

Zero misspellings are on record for brand spanking new in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Apparently a blend of brand new + spanking new, with spanking coming to serve as an intensifier. The correct English form is brand spanking new, spelled B-R-A-N-D- -S-P-A-N-K-I-N-G- -N-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    Utterly new, as new as possible.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Pardon me, ma'am. I'm brand-spanking-new in town, and I was hoping to get a look at the Statue of Liberty.

Etymology

Apparently a blend of brand new + spanking new, with spanking coming to serve as an intensifier.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "brand spanking new"?
"brand spanking new" is spelled B-R-A-N-D- -S-P-A-N-K-I-N-G- -N-E-W.
What does "brand spanking new" mean?
As an adjective, "brand spanking new" means: Utterly new, as new as possible.
What is the origin of the word "brand spanking new"?
Apparently a blend of brand new + spanking new, with spanking coming to serve as an intensifier. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list