# cairn

> English word · Noun · IPA /kɛən/ · frequency rank #33,970

## Definitions
1. A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument.
2. A pile of stones heaped up as a landmark, to guide travelers on land or at sea, or to arrest attention, as in surveying, or in leaving traces of an exploring party, etc.
3. A cairn terrier.

## Etymology
From Scots cairn, from Scottish Gaelic càrn, from Old Irish carn, from Proto-Celtic *karnos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”).
Compare Welsh carn, Cornish carn. Doublet of carn and horn.

## Easily confused with
- **can** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-can)
- **car** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-car)
- **care** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-care)
- **card** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-card)
- **cars** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-cars)
- **carl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-carl)
- **coin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-coin)
- **corn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-corn)
- **chin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-chin)
- **cart** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-cart)
- **carr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-carr)
- **Cara** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-cara)
- **Cary** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-cary)
- **carb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-carb)
- **carp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-carp)
- **Caro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-caro)
- **CERN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-cern)
- **carry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-carry)
- **chair** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-chair)
- **chain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairn-vs-chain)

## Common misspellings (7)
`acirn`, `cainr`, `cairnn`, `cairrn`, `carin`, `ccairn`, `ciarn`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cairn