catacomb

/ˈkætəkuːm/

//ˈkætəkuːm// noun

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

"catacomb" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“catacomb” is uncommon English (frequency #87,121 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,121
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a cemetery; a tunnel system used for burying the dead, as in Paris or Ancient Rome.

Corpus desk

Index EN-catacomb · catacomb · English

catacomb · rank #87,121 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #87,121
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH centralism

Nearest frequency peer: centralism (+2 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 “catacomb”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for catacomb
PropertyValue
Headwordcatacomb
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkætəkuːm/
Letters8
Frequency rank#87,121
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “catacomb” 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).catacombfalls 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: “centralism” (#87,123), “Carrell” (#87,118), “centrism” (#87,124). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “catacomb” is #87,121. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

catacomb is uncommon English at frequency #87,121 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkætəkuːm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a cemetery; a tunnel system used for burying the dead, as in Paris or Ancient Rome.".

catacomb has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English catacombe, from Old English catacumbe, catacumbas pl, from Late Latin catacumbae pl, name of the underground cemetery of St. Sebastian in Rome, of unclear origin. Perhaps a dissimilation (influenced by *cumbō (“to lie, recline”)) of Late… The correct English form is catacomb, spelled C-A-T-A-C-O-M-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    An underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a cemetery; a tunnel system used for burying the dead, as in Paris or Ancient Rome.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Meronyms: crypt, ossuary

Etymology

From Middle English catacombe, from Old English catacumbe, catacumbas pl, from Late Latin catacumbae pl, name of the underground cemetery of St. Sebastian in Rome, of unclear origin. Perhaps a dissimilation (influenced by *cumbō (“to lie, recline”)) of Late Latin cata tumbās (literally “among the tombs”) (from Ancient Greek κατά (katá, “under”) and τύμβος (túmbos, “tomb”)). Some sources suggest Ancient Greek κύμβη (kúmbē, “drinking vessel”) as an alternative etymon, but the semantic link is unclear.

This word in other languages

catacombe(Français)Katakombe(Deutsch)catacumba(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 "catacomb"?
"catacomb" is spelled C-A-T-A-C-O-M-B. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkætəkuːm/.
What does "catacomb" mean?
As a noun, "catacomb" means: An underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a cemetery; a tunnel system used for burying the dead, as in Paris or Ancient Rome.
How do you pronounce "catacomb"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "catacomb" is /ˈkætəkuːm/. 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 "catacomb"?
From Middle English catacombe, from Old English catacumbe, catacumbas pl, from Late Latin catacumbae pl, name of the underground cemetery of St. Sebastian in Rome, of unclear origin. Perhaps a dissimilation (influenced by *cumbō (“to lie, recline”... 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 "catacomb", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

centrism#87,124chambray#87,126chaperon#87,129bytecode#87,110

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list