cack
/kæk/
"cack" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cack” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A squawk.
Corpus desk
Index EN-cack · cack · English
cack · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cack |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kæk/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “cack” in English
Rare enough to double-check
cack is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /kæk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cack, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Onomatopoeia; see cackle. The correct English form is cack, spelled C-A-C-K.
Definition
- 1A squawk.
- 2A discordant note.
- 3A cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii)
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cack appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Of course, so excitable a nature must find other than physical outlet for his irrepressible energy, and he accompanies his movements by more or less appropriate notes: scolding cacks, clinking, metallic rattles, musical trills, tree-toadlike krrrings – in fact, he possesses an almost endless vocabulary .
[…]for on occasions he gives utterance to an entirely uncharacteristic series of cacking notes, and even mounts high in the tree to sing a hesitating medley of the same unmusical cacks, broken whistled calls, and attempted trills.
Etymology
Onomatopoeia; see cackle.
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.