cereal

/ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl/

//ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cereal” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,508 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#10,508
frequency rank, English
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A type of grass (such as wheat, rice or oats) cultivated for its edible grains.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cereal vs cream
67% similar
cereal vs coral
67% similar
cereal vs Ceres
50% similar

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

Key facts for cereal
PropertyValue
Headwordcereal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#10,508
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cereal” 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). cereal lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cereal is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,508 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 cereal, with forms such as "ccereal", "ceeral", and "cerael". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "cream", "coral", "Ceres", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French céréale (“having to do with cereal”), from Latin Cerealis (“of or relating to Ceres”), from Ceres (“Roman goddess of agriculture”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“grow”), from which also Latin sincerus (English sincere) and Latin crēs… The correct English form is cereal, spelled C-E-R-E-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A type of grass (such as wheat, rice or oats) cultivated for its edible grains.
  2. 2
    The grains of such a grass.
  3. 3
    Breakfast cereal.

Etymology

Borrowed from French céréale (“having to do with cereal”), from Latin Cerealis (“of or relating to Ceres”), from Ceres (“Roman goddess of agriculture”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“grow”), from which also Latin sincerus (English sincere) and Latin crēscō (“grow”) (English crescent).

Synonyms

foodgrain

This word in other languages

cereal(Español)céréale(Français)Getreide(Deutsch)cereal(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccereal,ceeral,cerael,cereall,cerela,cerreal,creeal,ecreal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cereal - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccereal1ceeral2cerael2cereall1cerela2cerreal1creeal2ecreal2
Edit distance from "cereal"

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 "cereal"?
"cereal" is spelled C-E-R-E-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl/.
What does "cereal" mean?
As a noun, "cereal" means: A type of grass (such as wheat, rice or oats) cultivated for its edible grains.
What words are commonly confused with "cereal"?
"cereal" is commonly confused with "cream", "coral", "Ceres". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cereal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cereal" is /ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl/. 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 "cereal"?
Borrowed from French céréale (“having to do with cereal”), from Latin Cerealis (“of or relating to Ceres”), from Ceres (“Roman goddess of agriculture”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“grow”), from which also Latin sincerus (English sincere) and ... 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.

Using “cereal”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-E-R-E-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “cream” - see the side-by-side comparison. cereal vs cream
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list