canker
/ˈkæŋkɚ/
"canker" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“canker” is an uncommon English word, ranked #60,689 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #60,689
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A plant disease marked by gradual decay.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | canker |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkæŋkɚ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #60,689 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “canker” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for canker is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkæŋkɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #60,689 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for canker, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English canker, cancre, from Old English cancer (“cancer; crab”), akin to Dutch kanker, Old High German chanchar. Ultimately from Latin cancer (“a cancer”). Doublet of cancer, a later borrowing from Latin, and chancre, which came through French. The correct English form is canker, spelled C-A-N-K-E-R.
Definition
- 1A plant disease marked by gradual decay.
- 2A region of dead plant tissue caused by such a disease.
- 3A worm or grub that destroys plant buds or leaves; cankerworm.
- 4A corroding or sloughing ulcer; especially a spreading gangrenous ulcer or collection of ulcers in or about the mouth.
- 5Anything which corrodes, corrupts, or destroys.
- 6A kind of wild rose; the dog rose.
- 7An obstinate and often incurable disease of a horse's foot, characterized by separation of the horny portion and the development of fungoid growths. Usually resulting from neglected thrush.
- 8An avian disease affecting doves, poultry, parrots and birds of prey, caused by Trichomonas gallinae.
- 9A crab.
Etymology
From Middle English canker, cancre, from Old English cancer (“cancer; crab”), akin to Dutch kanker, Old High German chanchar. Ultimately from Latin cancer (“a cancer”). Doublet of cancer, a later borrowing from Latin, and chancre, which came through French.
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
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Using “canker”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-N-K-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkæŋkɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.