Caribbean
/ˌkæɹɪˈbiːən/
"caribbean" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Caribbean” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,862 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #5,862
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pertaining to the sea and region of the western Atlantic bounded by South America, Central America, and the islands of the West Indies (such as Cuba and Hispaniola).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Caribbean |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌkæɹɪˈbiːən/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #5,862 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Caribbean” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Caribbean is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌkæɹɪˈbiːən/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,862 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Pertaining to the sea and region of the western Atlantic bounded by South America, Central America, and the islands of the West Indies (such as Cuba and Hispaniola).".
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Caribbean, with forms such as "acribbean", "cairbbean", and "carbibean". 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. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Carib or Caribe, a people who lived in the West Indies, + -an. The correct English form is Caribbean, spelled C-A-R-I-B-B-E-A-N.
Definition
- 1Pertaining to the sea and region of the western Atlantic bounded by South America, Central America, and the islands of the West Indies (such as Cuba and Hispaniola).
Etymology
From Carib or Caribe, a people who lived in the West Indies, + -an.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acribbean,cairbbean,carbibean,caribbaen,caribbeann,caribbena,caribean,caribeban,carribbean,ccaribbean,craibbean
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Caribbean - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "Caribbean"?
What does "Caribbean" mean?
What are common misspellings of "Caribbean"?
How do you pronounce "Caribbean"?
What is the origin of the word "Caribbean"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Caribbean”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-R-I-B-B-E-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkæɹɪˈbiːən/ (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.