English Word Reference Free

cabin

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "cabin", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "cabin" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "cabin" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

cabin is aEnglishnoun. It means: A small dwelling characteristic of the frontier, especially when built from logs with simple tools and not constructed by professional builders, but by those who meant to live in it. Pronounced /ˈkæbɪn/. It ranks #5,765 in English word frequency. Often confused with can and Cai.

Key facts for cabin
PropertyValue
Headwordcabin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkæbɪn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,765
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of cabin in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cabin is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkæbɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,765 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for cabin, with forms such as "acbin", "cabbin", and "cabinn". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "can", "Cai", "coin", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English caban, cabane, from Old French cabane, from Medieval Latin capanna (“a cabin”); see further etymology there. Doublet of cabana and cabane. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is cabin, spelled C-A-B-I-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small dwelling characteristic of the frontier, especially when built from logs with simple tools and not constructed by professional builders, but by those who meant to live in it.
  2. 2
    A chalet or lodge, especially one that can hold large groups of people.
  3. 3
    A private room on a ship.
  4. 4
    The interior of a boat, enclosed to create a small room, particularly for sleeping.
  5. 5
    The passenger area of an airplane.
  6. 6
    The section of a passenger plane having the same class of service.
  7. 7
    A signal box.
  8. 8
    A small room; an enclosed place.
  9. 9
    A private office; particularly of a doctor, businessman, lawyer, or other professional.

Etymology

From Middle English caban, cabane, from Old French cabane, from Medieval Latin capanna (“a cabin”); see further etymology there. Doublet of cabana and cabane.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: acbin,cabbin,cabinn,cabni,caibn,cbain,ccabin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for cabin

Misspelling Variants of "cabin"

acbin5cabbin6cabinn6cabni5caibn5cbain5ccabin6
Misspelling Variants of "cabin"

Frequency rank: #5,765 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cabin"?
"cabin" is spelled C-A-B-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkæbɪn/.
What does "cabin" mean?
As a noun, "cabin" means: A small dwelling characteristic of the frontier, especially when built from logs with simple tools and not constructed by professional builders, but by those who meant to live in it.
What words are commonly confused with "cabin"?
"cabin" is commonly confused with "can", "Cai", "coin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cabin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cabin" is /ˈkæbɪn/. 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 "cabin"?
From Middle English caban, cabane, from Old French cabane, from Medieval Latin capanna (“a cabin”); see further etymology there. Doublet of cabana and cabane. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.