cakewalk

/ˈkeɪk.wɔk/

//ˈkeɪk.wɔk// noun

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

"cakewalk" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cakewalk” is uncommon English (frequency #54,667 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,667
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A contest in which cake was offered for the best dancers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cakewalk · cakewalk · English

cakewalk · rank #54,667 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,667
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH caerphilly

Nearest frequency peer: caerphilly (-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 “cakewalk”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cakewalk
PropertyValue
Headwordcakewalk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkeɪk.wɔk/
Letters8
Frequency rank#54,667
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cakewalk” 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).cakewalkfalls 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: “caerphilly” (#54,666), “Caliente” (#54,668), “Camberwell” (#54,669). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cakewalk” is #54,667. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cakewalk is uncommon English at frequency #54,667 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkeɪk.wɔk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for cakewalk in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cake + walk. Originally an African-American form of dance and music that developed after the Civil War, later popularised by minstrel shows. It was danced at social events, with the best dancers often receiving cake as a prize. It derives from dance co… The correct English form is cakewalk, spelled C-A-K-E-W-A-L-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A contest in which cake was offered for the best dancers.
  2. 2
    The style of music associated with such a contest.
  3. 3
    The dance, or strutting style of dance, associated with such a contest.
  4. 4
    Something that is easy or simple, or that does not present a great challenge.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Just as common as she is, a cakewalk sort of a name.
  2. Nah. The first step’s a cakewalk. We can beat the hell out of a developing infant, in any case.

Etymology

From cake + walk. Originally an African-American form of dance and music that developed after the Civil War, later popularised by minstrel shows. It was danced at social events, with the best dancers often receiving cake as a prize. It derives from dance competitions by plantation slaves in which the style of dance lampooned the ballroom dances of the slaveowners. Slaveowners seem to have found the competitions entertaining and the habit of offering cake may originate from this period. The name is sometimes also applied to the dance's precursor on the plantations. Doing the cakewalk well required virtuosity, and a major aesthetic aspect of that virtuosity was the apparent ease with which the dance was performed. This gave rise to the idiom as easy as a cakewalk, which in turn led to the sense of cakewalk as something that is easy. See the linked Wikipedia article for more.

This word in other languages

pan comido(Español)

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 "cakewalk"?
"cakewalk" is spelled C-A-K-E-W-A-L-K. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkeɪk.wɔk/.
What does "cakewalk" mean?
As a noun, "cakewalk" means: A contest in which cake was offered for the best dancers.
How do you pronounce "cakewalk"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cakewalk" is /ˈkeɪk.wɔk/. 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 "cakewalk"?
From cake + walk. Originally an African-American form of dance and music that developed after the Civil War, later popularised by minstrel shows. It was danced at social events, with the best dancers often receiving cake as a prize. It derives fro... 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 "cakewalk", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Caliente#54,668camshaft#54,670buckshot#54,660Brittain#54,655

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list