caucus
/ˈkɔː.kəs/
"caucus" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“caucus” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,295 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #13,295
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A usually preliminary meeting of party members to nominate candidates for public office or delegates to be sent to a nominating convention, or to confer regarding policy.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | caucus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɔː.kəs/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #13,295 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “caucus” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for caucus is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɔː.kəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,295 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for caucus, with forms such as "acucus", "cacuus", and "cauccus". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "causes", "circus", "chucks", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unknown. Often claimed to be from an Algonquian language; transcribed words such as cawaassough and caucauasu meaning "counselor, elder, adviser" appear in early texts. A popular folk etymology attested in Great Leaders and National Issues of 1896 stated: "… The correct English form is caucus, spelled C-A-U-C-U-S.
Definition
- 1A usually preliminary meeting of party members to nominate candidates for public office or delegates to be sent to a nominating convention, or to confer regarding policy.
- 2A grouping of all the members of a legislature from the same party.
- 3A political interest group by members of a legislative body.
Etymology
Unknown. Often claimed to be from an Algonquian language; transcribed words such as cawaassough and caucauasu meaning "counselor, elder, adviser" appear in early texts. A popular folk etymology attested in Great Leaders and National Issues of 1896 stated: "In the early part of the eighteenth century a number of caulkers connected with the shipping business in the North End of Boston held a meeting for consultation. That meeting was the germ of the political caucuses which have formed so prominent a feature of our government ever since its organization." American Heritage Dictionary states the term is taken from the Caucus Club of Boston in the 1760s, possibly from Medieval Latin caucus (“drinking vessel”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acucus,cacuus,cauccus,caucsu,caucuss,cauucs,ccaucus,cuacus
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of caucus - 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 "caucus"?
What does "caucus" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "caucus"?
How do you pronounce "caucus"?
What is the origin of the word "caucus"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “caucus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-U-C-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɔː.kəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “causes” - see the side-by-side comparison. caucus vs causes
- 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.