businesslike
"businesslike" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“businesslike” is uncommon English (frequency #63,485 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #63,485
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Methodical and efficient, in a way that would be advantageous to a business or businessperson.
Corpus desk
Index EN-businesslike · businesslike · English
businesslike · rank #63,485 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #63,485
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH bullfrog
Nearest frequency peer: bullfrog (-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 “businesslike”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- breathy
breathy
36,522 corpus weight
- BTEC
BTEC
36,518 corpus weight
- bullfrog
bullfrog
36,517 corpus weight
- businesslike
businesslike
36,516 corpus weight
- Callen
Callen
36,513 corpus weight
- cannoli
cannoli
36,511 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “businesslike” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | businesslike |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #63,485 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “businesslike” in English
Rare enough to double-check
businesslike is uncommon English at frequency #63,485 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for businesslike, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From business + -like. The correct English form is businesslike, spelled B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S-L-I-K-E.
Definition
- 1Methodical and efficient, in a way that would be advantageous to a business or businessperson.
- 2Earnest and practical without being distracted or enthusiastic.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how businesslike appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The gunners stood by the guns waiting, and the ammunition waggons were at a business-like distance.
Further along, the road passes a low E-shape of red-brick estate buildings, obviously modern, yet all of a piece with this sensible, attractive and businesslike village.
Etymology
From business + -like.
Synonyms
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "businesslike", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).