cabbage

/ˈkæb.ɪd͡ʒ/

//ˈkæb.ɪd͡ʒ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cabbage” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,878 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#13,878
frequency rank, English
7
letters
8
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An edible plant (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) having a head of green leaves.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cabbage vs cabbie
71% similar
cabbage vs carnage
71% similar
cabbage vs cabbages
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cabbage
PropertyValue
Headwordcabbage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkæb.ɪd͡ʒ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,878
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cabbage” 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). cabbage lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cabbage is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkæb.ɪd͡ʒ/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,878 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for cabbage, with forms such as "acbbage", "cababge", and "cabage". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "cabbie", "carnage", "cabbages", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Old French caboce Anglo-Norman cabochebor. Middle English caboche English cabbage From Middle English caboche, cabage (“cabbage”; “a certain fish”), a borrowing from Anglo-Norman caboche (“head”), a northern variant of caboce, of uncertain or… The correct English form is cabbage, spelled C-A-B-B-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An edible plant (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) having a head of green leaves.
  2. 2
    An edible plant (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) having a head of green leaves.
  3. 3
    The leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable.
  4. 4
    A person with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage.
  5. 5
    Used as a term of endearment.
  6. 6
    Money.
  7. 7
    Marijuana leaf, the part that is not smoked but from which cannabutter can be extracted.
  8. 8
    A terminal bud of certain palm trees, used for food.
  9. 9
    A cabbage palmetto (Sabal palmetto), a palm of the southeastern US coasts and nearby islands.
  10. 10
    A human head.

Etymology

Etymology tree Old French caboce Anglo-Norman cabochebor. Middle English caboche English cabbage From Middle English caboche, cabage (“cabbage”; “a certain fish”), a borrowing from Anglo-Norman caboche (“head”), a northern variant of caboce, of uncertain origin. Some authorities derive it from Latin caput (“head”), others from ca- (said to be an expressive prefix) + boce (“hump; bump”) (whence English boss).

Synonyms

cabbage plantcolecolegreensperson with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage

This word in other languages

repollo(Español)chou(Français)Kohl(Deutsch)repolho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: acbbage,cababge,cabage,cabbaeg,cabbagge,cabbgae,cbabage,ccabbage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cabbage - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

acbbage2cababge2cabage1cabbaeg2cabbagge1cabbgae2cbabage2ccabbage1
Edit distance from "cabbage"

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 "cabbage"?
"cabbage" is spelled C-A-B-B-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkæb.ɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "cabbage" mean?
As a noun, "cabbage" means: An edible plant (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) having a head of green leaves.
What words are commonly confused with "cabbage"?
"cabbage" is commonly confused with "cabbie", "carnage", "cabbages". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cabbage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cabbage" is /ˈkæb.ɪd͡ʒ/. 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 "cabbage"?
Etymology tree Old French caboce Anglo-Norman cabochebor. Middle English caboche English cabbage From Middle English caboche, cabage (“cabbage”; “a certain fish”), a borrowing from Anglo-Norman caboche (“head”), a northern variant of caboce, of un... 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.

Using “cabbage”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-A-B-B-A-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkæb.ɪd͡ʒ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “cabbie” - see the side-by-side comparison. cabbage vs cabbie
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list