cart

/kɑːt/

//kɑːt// noun

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

"cart" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cart” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,318. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,318
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small, open, wheeled vehicle, drawn or pushed by a person or animal, often with two wheels on one axle, more often used for transporting goods than passengers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cart · cart · English

cart · rank #7,318 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,318
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH buttons

Nearest frequency peer: buttons (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “cart”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “cart” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cart vs CT
0% similar
cart vs CR
0% similar
cart vs cut
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cart
PropertyValue
Headwordcart
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɑːt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#7,318
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cart” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).cartlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “buttons” (#7,317), “circus” (#7,319), “bump” (#7,316). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around cart (IPA /kɑːt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,318 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for cart, with forms such as "acrt", "carrt", and "cartt". 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 also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CT", "CR", "cut", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cart, kart, from Old Norse kartr (“wagon; cart”), merged with native Old English cræt (“a chariot; cart”), from Proto-Germanic *krattaz, *krattijô, *kradō, from Proto-Indo-European *gret- (“tracery; wattle; cradle; cage; basket”), from *… The correct English form is cart, spelled C-A-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small, open, wheeled vehicle, drawn or pushed by a person or animal, often with two wheels on one axle, more often used for transporting goods than passengers.
  2. 2
    A small motor vehicle resembling a car; a go-cart.
  3. 3
    A shopping cart.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The grocer delivered his goods by cart.
  2. We made an odd party before the arrival of the Ten, particularly when the Celebrity dropped in for lunch or dinner. He could not be induced to remain permanently at Mohair because Miss Trevor was at Asquith, but he appropriated a Hempstead cart from the Mohair stables and made the trip sometimes twice in a day.

Etymology

From Middle English cart, kart, from Old Norse kartr (“wagon; cart”), merged with native Old English cræt (“a chariot; cart”), from Proto-Germanic *krattaz, *krattijô, *kradō, from Proto-Indo-European *gret- (“tracery; wattle; cradle; cage; basket”), from *ger- (“to turn, wind”). Cognate with West Frisian kret (“wheelbarrow for hauling dung”), Dutch krat, kret (“crate; wheelbarrow for hauling dung”), German Krätze (“basket; pannier”). Wider cognates include Sanskrit ग्रन्थ (grantha, “a binding”).

This word in other languages

carro(Español)chariot(Français)Wagen(Deutsch)carroça(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acrt
  • carrt
  • cartt
  • catr
  • ccart
  • crat

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cart - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

acrt2carrt1cartt1catr2ccart1crat2
Edit distance from "cart"

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 "cart"?
"cart" is spelled C-A-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is /kɑːt/.
What does "cart" mean?
As a noun, "cart" means: A small, open, wheeled vehicle, drawn or pushed by a person or animal, often with two wheels on one axle, more often used for transporting goods than passengers.
What words are commonly confused with "cart"?
"cart" is commonly confused with "CT", "CR", "cut". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cart"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cart" is /kɑːt/. 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 "cart"?
From Middle English cart, kart, from Old Norse kartr (“wagon; cart”), merged with native Old English cræt (“a chariot; cart”), from Proto-Germanic *krattaz, *krattijô, *kradō, from Proto-Indo-European *gret- (“tracery; wattle; cradle; cage; basket... 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 "cart", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bump#7,316bean#7,313cord#7,328dale#7,331

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

sneak6 variantskitty6 variantslawn6 variantsOlds6 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "cart". Here's where to go from here.

  • "cart" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "CT". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #7,318 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list