but good

adv

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

The verdict

“but good” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To a high degree; very thoroughly; in a most definite manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-but-good · but good · English

but good · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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 but good
PropertyValue
Headwordbut good
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “but good” in English

but goodsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

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

Rare enough to double-check

but good is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To a high degree; very thoroughly; in a most definite manner.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for but good, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is but good, spelled B-U-T- -G-O-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To a high degree; very thoroughly; in a most definite manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ryder rode beside her, pleased at her pleasure, knowing that he'd surprised her but good.
  2. [T]he debate is a sublime mismatch: He's expected to whip this guy, but good.

Synonyms

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 "but good"?
"but good" is spelled B-U-T- -G-O-O-D.
What does "but good" mean?
As an adverb, "but good" means: To a high degree; very thoroughly; in a most definite manner.
What language does "but good" come from?
"but good" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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