cackle

/ˈkækəl/

//ˈkækəl// noun

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

"cackle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cackle” is uncommon English (frequency #58,577 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,577
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The cry of a hen or goose, especially when laying an egg.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cackle · cackle · English

cackle · rank #58,577 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,577
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cachet

Nearest frequency peer: cachet (-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 “cackle”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cackle” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cackle
PropertyValue
Headwordcackle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkækəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#58,577
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cackle” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).cacklefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “cachet” (#58,576), “calcification” (#58,578), “Bynes” (#58,575). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cackle” is #58,577. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cackle is uncommon English at frequency #58,577 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkækəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for cackle, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English caclen, cakelen, perhaps from Old English *caclian, *cacolian, from Proto-West Germanic *kakulōn, *kakilōn (“to cackle, gaggle, yelp, snarl”), perhaps of imitative origin. By surface analysis, cack + -le. Compare Dutch kakelen (“to cackl… The correct English form is cackle, spelled C-A-C-K-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The cry of a hen or goose, especially when laying an egg.
  2. 2
    A laugh resembling the cry of a hen or goose.
  3. 3
    Futile or excessively noisy talk.
  4. 4
    A group of hyenas.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I heard a grey hen cackling among the ling; I called and thought, "If I could get a sight of you now, it would be your last cackle;" just then I heard something moving behind me on the path.
  2. There's no time to waste on silly cackle.

Etymology

From Middle English caclen, cakelen, perhaps from Old English *caclian, *cacolian, from Proto-West Germanic *kakulōn, *kakilōn (“to cackle, gaggle, yelp, snarl”), perhaps of imitative origin. By surface analysis, cack + -le. Compare Dutch kakelen (“to cackle”), German Low German kakeln (“to cackle”), German kakeln (“to blather”), Danish kagle (“to cackle”), Swedish kackla (“to cackle”). Compare also Old English cahhetan, ċeahhettan (“to laugh loudly; cackle”), German gackern (“to cackle”).

This word in other languages

cacareo(Español)caquet(Français)Gackern(Deutsch)cacarejo(Português)

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 "cackle"?
"cackle" is spelled C-A-C-K-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkækəl/.
What does "cackle" mean?
As a noun, "cackle" means: The cry of a hen or goose, especially when laying an egg.
How do you pronounce "cackle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cackle" is /ˈkækəl/. 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 "cackle"?
From Middle English caclen, cakelen, perhaps from Old English *caclian, *cacolian, from Proto-West Germanic *kakulōn, *kakilōn (“to cackle, gaggle, yelp, snarl”), perhaps of imitative origin. By surface analysis, cack + -le. Compare Dutch kakelen ... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cackle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cachet#58,576bungle#58,571broods#58,564Bonney#58,558

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list