cheekbone

Name: cheekbone, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈt͡ʃikˌboʊn/

//ˈt͡ʃikˌboʊn// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“cheekbone” is uncommon English (frequency #64,263 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,263
frequency rank, English: 43,570
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The small prominent bone of the cheek.

Key facts for cheekbone
Property	Value
Headword	cheekbone
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈt͡ʃikˌboʊn/
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#64,263
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cheekbone” 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). cheekbone lands here:

#64,263

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

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

Rare enough to double-check

cheekbone is uncommon English at frequency #64,263 among 43,570 “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
The small prominent bone of the cheek.

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.

Using “cheekbone”

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

The one correct English spelling is C-H-E-E-K-B-O-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈt͡ʃikˌboʊn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.