cannoli

/kaˈnəʊlɪ/

//kaˈnəʊlɪ// noun

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

The verdict

“cannoli” is uncommon English (frequency #63,490 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,490
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tube of fried pastry, typical of Sicily, filled with ricotta or similar cream cheese, and flavorings, eaten as a dessert.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cannoli · cannoli · English

cannoli · rank #63,490 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,490
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH canst

Nearest frequency peer: canst (+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 “cannoli”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cannoli
PropertyValue
Headwordcannoli
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kaˈnəʊlɪ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#63,490
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cannoli” 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).cannolifalls 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: “canst” (#63,491), “Callen” (#63,488), “cantankerous” (#63,492). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cannoli” is #63,490. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cannoli is uncommon English at frequency #63,490 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kaˈnəʊlɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A tube of fried pastry, typical of Sicily, filled with ricotta or similar cream cheese, and flavorings, eaten as a dessert.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for cannoli in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian cannoli (plural of cannolo) or Sicilian cannoli (plural of cannolu); see there for more. The correct English form is cannoli, spelled C-A-N-N-O-L-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tube of fried pastry, typical of Sicily, filled with ricotta or similar cream cheese, and flavorings, eaten as a dessert.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cannoli (plural of cannolo) or Sicilian cannoli (plural of cannolu); see there for more.

This word in other languages

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 "cannoli"?
"cannoli" is spelled C-A-N-N-O-L-I. The IPA pronunciation is /kaˈnəʊlɪ/.
What does "cannoli" mean?
As a noun, "cannoli" means: A tube of fried pastry, typical of Sicily, filled with ricotta or similar cream cheese, and flavorings, eaten as a dessert.
How do you pronounce "cannoli"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cannoli" is /kaˈnəʊlɪ/. 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 "cannoli"?
Borrowed from Italian cannoli (plural of cannolo) or Sicilian cannoli (plural of cannolu); see there for more. 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 "cannoli", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list