cheekbone

/ˈt͡ʃikˌboʊn/

//ˈt͡ʃikˌboʊn// noun

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

"cheekbone" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cheekbone” is uncommon English (frequency #64,263 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,263
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The small prominent bone of the cheek.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cheekbone · cheekbone · English

cheekbone · rank #64,263 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,263
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Chillicothe

Nearest frequency peer: Chillicothe (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “cheekbone”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cheekbone
PropertyValue
Headwordcheekbone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt͡ʃikˌboʊn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#64,263
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cheekbone” 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).cheekbonefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Chillicothe” (#64,264), “chola” (#64,265), “Champa” (#64,260). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cheekbone” is #64,263. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cheekbone is uncommon English at frequency #64,263 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈt͡ʃikˌboʊn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The small prominent bone of the cheek.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for cheekbone in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English chekebon, chekbone, from Old English ċēacbān (“cheekbone”); equivalent to cheek + bone. Compare Dutch kaakbeen (“jawbone”). The correct English form is cheekbone, spelled C-H-E-E-K-B-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The small prominent bone of the cheek.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.
  2. A youngish-looking man came up to him, and aggressive-looking type with a hook mouth, a lantern nose, and small beady little cheekbones.

Etymology

From Middle English chekebon, chekbone, from Old English ċēacbān (“cheekbone”); equivalent to cheek + bone. Compare Dutch kaakbeen (“jawbone”).

Synonyms

malar bonezygomazygomatic bone

This word in other languages

pómulo(Español)pommette(Français)Jochbein(Deutsch)

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 "cheekbone"?
"cheekbone" is spelled C-H-E-E-K-B-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃikˌboʊn/.
What does "cheekbone" mean?
As a noun, "cheekbone" means: The small prominent bone of the cheek.
How do you pronounce "cheekbone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cheekbone" is /ˈt͡ʃikˌboʊn/. 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 "cheekbone"?
From Middle English chekebon, chekbone, from Old English ċēacbān (“cheekbone”); equivalent to cheek + bone. Compare Dutch kaakbeen (“jawbone”). 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 "cheekbone", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Centralia#64,256clickable#64,271Comintern#64,277cassation#64,248

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list