caries

/ˈkɛə.ɹiːz/

//ˈkɛə.ɹiːz// noun

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

"caries" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“caries” is uncommon English (frequency #51,012 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,012
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay.

Corpus desk

Index EN-caries · caries · English

caries · rank #51,012 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,012
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cantaloupe

Nearest frequency peer: cantaloupe (-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 “caries”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for caries
PropertyValue
Headwordcaries
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɛə.ɹiːz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#51,012
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “caries” 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).cariesfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “cantaloupe” (#51,011), “carle” (#51,013), “cavan” (#51,014). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “caries” is #51,012. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

caries is uncommon English at frequency #51,012 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɛə.ɹiːz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for caries in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. 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 Latin cariēs. The correct English form is caries, spelled C-A-R-I-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay.
  2. 2
    The progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Near-synonym: cavity

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cariēs.

This word in other languages

caries(Español)carie(Français)Karies(Deutsch)cárie(Português)

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 "caries"?
"caries" is spelled C-A-R-I-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɛə.ɹiːz/.
What does "caries" mean?
As a noun, "caries" means: The progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay.
How do you pronounce "caries"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "caries" is /ˈkɛə.ɹiːz/. 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 "caries"?
Borrowed from Latin cariēs. 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 "caries", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

busing#51,007Ciaran#51,021Colfax#51,027blunts#50,989

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list