cannon fodder
"cannon-fodder" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cannon fodder” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Military forces considered to be expendable.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cannon fodder |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cannon fodder” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
cannon fodder is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
cannon fodder has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Mid-19th century, from cannon (“artillery piece”) + fodder (“food”), a calque of German Kanonenfutter, itself possibly a calque of English food for powder. See the German for more. The correct English form is cannon fodder, spelled C-A-N-N-O-N- -F-O-D-D-E-R.
Definition
- 1Military forces considered to be expendable.
- 2Any group of contestants that have no hope of success.
- 3Artillery ammunition.
- 4An expendable minor character primarily included to make the protagonist(s) stand out.
Etymology
Mid-19th century, from cannon (“artillery piece”) + fodder (“food”), a calque of German Kanonenfutter, itself possibly a calque of English food for powder. See the German 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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “cannon fodder”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-N-N-O-N- -F-O-D-D-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.