cahoots

/kəˈhuːts/

//kəˈhuːts// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cahoots” is uncommon English (frequency #50,410 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,410
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Chiefly preceded by in: collaboration or collusion, chiefly for a nefarious reason.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cahoots · cahoots · English

cahoots · rank #50,410 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,410
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cait

Nearest frequency peer: Cait (+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 “cahoots”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cahoots
PropertyValue
Headwordcahoots
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈhuːts/
Letters7
Frequency rank#50,410
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cahoots” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).cahootsfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Cait” (#50,411), “burnie” (#50,408), “Caius” (#50,412). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cahoots” is #50,410. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cahoots is uncommon English at frequency #50,410 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kəˈhuːts/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for cahoots in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *ḱóm From earlier cahoot + -s (suffix forming regular plurals of nouns). Cahoot is probably borrowed: * from French cahute (“hut, shack”), from Dutch kajuit (“cabin on a ship”), from Middle Low German kajüte, probably from Middle Dutch kayhute; fu… The correct English form is cahoots, spelled C-A-H-O-O-T-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Chiefly preceded by in: collaboration or collusion, chiefly for a nefarious reason.
  2. 2
    plural of cahoot (“a company or partnership; a group of people working together, chiefly for a nefarious reason, hence, a collaboration or collusion; an accomplice, partner”)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Those two are definitely in cahoots.
  2. There was no stage on the road, and no vehicle in the place except these mighty wagons. Accordingly I struck a bargain with a wagoner, who took my baggage. 'You may go with me,' said he, 'but may-be you can't go cahoots with me in my eatin' fixin's, stranger.'

Etymology

PIE word *ḱóm From earlier cahoot + -s (suffix forming regular plurals of nouns). Cahoot is probably borrowed: * from French cahute (“hut, shack”), from Dutch kajuit (“cabin on a ship”), from Middle Low German kajüte, probably from Middle Dutch kayhute; further etymology uncertain, possibly borrowed from Old French *cahute, chahute (whence Middle French quahute), a blend of cabane (“cabin, hut, shack”) + hute (“hut”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to conceal, hide; to cover; hide, skin”)); or * from French cohorte (“group of people supporting the same person or thing, cohort”), from Latin cohors (“cohort; crowd”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by; near; with”) + *ǵʰer- (“to enclose”) (and if so, a doublet of cohort).

This word in other languages

colusión(Español)ligue(Français)conluio(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 "cahoots"?
"cahoots" is spelled C-A-H-O-O-T-S. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈhuːts/.
What does "cahoots" mean?
As a noun, "cahoots" means: Chiefly preceded by in: collaboration or collusion, chiefly for a nefarious reason.
How do you pronounce "cahoots"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cahoots" is /kəˈhuːts/. 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 "cahoots"?
PIE word *ḱóm From earlier cahoot + -s (suffix forming regular plurals of nouns). Cahoot is probably borrowed: * from French cahute (“hut, shack”), from Dutch kajuit (“cabin on a ship”), from Middle Low German kajüte, probably from Middle Dutch k... 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 "cahoots", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chiller#50,423clubbed#50,425blunted#50,393cocking#50,430

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list