caterwauling
/ˈkætəwɔːlɪŋ/
"caterwauling" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“caterwauling” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - gerund of caterwaul: a sound that caterwauls.
Corpus desk
Index EN-caterwauling · caterwauling · English
caterwauling · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | caterwauling |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkætəwɔːlɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “caterwauling” in English
Rare enough to double-check
caterwauling is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkætəwɔːlɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "gerund of caterwaul: a sound that caterwauls.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for caterwauling, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From caterwaul + -ing. The correct English form is caterwauling, spelled C-A-T-E-R-W-A-U-L-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1gerund of caterwaul: a sound that caterwauls.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how caterwauling appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
VVhy, here is nothing in the vvorld in this houſe but catter-vvavvling from morning till night, nothing but catter-vvavvling. Hoity toity! vvho have vve here?
Now, I like a good tune what is a tune; but them caterwaulings and dirges that that chap Gray plays on that fiddle of his—gorry, Mr. Smith, I'd rather hear the old barn door at home squeak any day.
Etymology
From caterwaul + -ing.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.