buckshot

noun

"buckshot" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“buckshot” is uncommon English (frequency #54,660 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,660
frequency rank, English
31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Lead shot used in shotgun cartridges, made of larger pellets than birdshot and suitable for hunting larger game.

Corpus desk

Index EN-buckshot · buckshot · English

buckshot · rank #54,660 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,660
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 31,241
  • PHOTO-FINISH Bruton

Nearest frequency peer: Bruton (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “buckshot”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “buckshot” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for buckshot
PropertyValue
Headwordbuckshot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#54,660
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “buckshot” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

buckshot is uncommon English at frequency #54,660 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Lead shot used in shotgun cartridges, made of larger pellets than birdshot and suitable for hunting larger game.".

buckshot has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From buck + shot. The correct English form is buckshot, spelled B-U-C-K-S-H-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lead shot used in shotgun cartridges, made of larger pellets than birdshot and suitable for hunting larger game.

Etymology

From buck + shot.

This word in other languages

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "buckshot"?
"buckshot" is spelled B-U-C-K-S-H-O-T.
What does "buckshot" mean?
As a noun, "buckshot" means: Lead shot used in shotgun cartridges, made of larger pellets than birdshot and suitable for hunting larger game.
What is the origin of the word "buckshot"?
From buck + shot. 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 "buckshot", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list