cannonball

/ˈkænənˌbɔːl/

//ˈkænənˌbɔːl// noun

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

"cannonball" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cannonball” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,974. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,974
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cannonball · cannonball · English

cannonball · rank #33,974 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,974
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cappuccino

Nearest frequency peer: cappuccino (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cannonball”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cannonball” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cannonball
PropertyValue
Headwordcannonball
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkænənˌbɔːl/
Letters10
Frequency rank#33,974
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cannonball”

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).cannonballlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cappuccino” (#33,975), “campo” (#33,972), “ceasing” (#33,977). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cannonball” is #33,974. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around cannonball (IPA /ˈkænənˌbɔːl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #33,974 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for cannonball, with forms such as "acnnonball", "cannnoball", and "cannobnall". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cannon + ball from being a round ball that is fired from a cannon. The correct English form is cannonball, spelled C-A-N-N-O-N-B-A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon.
  2. 2
    An explosive-filled hollow iron sphere fused through a hole and intended to explode at a calculated distance rather than explode on impact.
  3. 3
    The act of jumping (typically into a swimming pool) with the legs bent and the arms wrapped around the knees to create a large splash, mimicking the flight and shape of a cannonball.
  4. 4
    Something that moves fast, especially a fast train.
  5. 5
    A served ball that travels with great speed and describes little or no arc in flight.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The New Yorker, 30 August 2004, p.40
  2. The cannonball could be called the S.U.V. of the pool — oversized, brash, hormonally hardwired.

Etymology

From cannon + ball from being a round ball that is fired from a cannon.

This word in other languages

boulet de canon(Français)Kanonenkugel(Deutsch)bomba(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acnnonball
  • cannnoball
  • cannobnall
  • cannonabll
  • cannonbal
  • cannonbball
  • cannonblal
  • cannonnball
  • canonball
  • canonnball
  • ccannonball
  • cnanonball

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cannonball - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

acnnonball2cannnoball2cannobnall2cannonabll2cannonbal1cannonbball1cannonblal2cannonnball1
Edit distance from "cannonball"

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 "cannonball"?
"cannonball" is spelled C-A-N-N-O-N-B-A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkænənˌbɔːl/.
What does "cannonball" mean?
As a noun, "cannonball" means: A spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon.
What are common misspellings of "cannonball"?
Common misspellings include "acnnonball", "cannnoball", "cannobnall", "cannonabll", "cannonbal". The correct spelling is "cannonball".
How do you pronounce "cannonball"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cannonball" is /ˈkænənˌbɔːl/. 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 "cannonball"?
From cannon + ball from being a round ball that is fired from a cannon. 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 "cannonball", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cappuccino#33,975admissible#33,927discarding#34,023emblematic#34,040

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Burnside12 variantsBouchard12 variantsBelgians12 variantsbattering12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list