cheerio

/ˈtʃɪəɹ.i.əʊ/

//ˈtʃɪəɹ.i.əʊ// intj

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

"cheerio" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cheerio” is uncommon English (frequency #64,980 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,980
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Goodbye, an interjection said upon parting.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cheerio · cheerio · English

cheerio · rank #64,980 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,980
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cheyne

Nearest frequency peer: Cheyne (+2 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 “cheerio”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cheerio
PropertyValue
Headwordcheerio
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/ˈtʃɪəɹ.i.əʊ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#64,980
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cheerio” 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).cheeriofalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Cheyne” (#64,982), “chana” (#64,976), “chutzpah” (#64,985). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cheerio” is #64,980. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cheerio is uncommon English at frequency #64,980 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /ˈtʃɪəɹ.i.əʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cheerio, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cheer and/or cheery + -o. The correct English form is cheerio, spelled C-H-E-E-R-I-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Goodbye, an interjection said upon parting.
  2. 2
    Hello; a greeting.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "In that case," said Archie, relieved, "cheerio, good luck, pip-pip, toodle-oo, and good-bye-ee! I'll be shifting!"
  2. But we all knew it wasn't the final end of the HST. This wasn't "goodbye", more like a "cheerio, see you someplace soon".

Etymology

From cheer and/or cheery + -o.

This word in other languages

salut(Français)tschüss(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 "cheerio"?
"cheerio" is spelled C-H-E-E-R-I-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtʃɪəɹ.i.əʊ/.
What does "cheerio" mean?
As an interjection, "cheerio" means: Goodbye, an interjection said upon parting.
How do you pronounce "cheerio"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cheerio" is /ˈtʃɪəɹ.i.əʊ/. 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 "cheerio"?
From cheer and/or cheery + -o. 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 "cheerio", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

centrum#64,973caspase#64,971Carmona#64,968citrine#64,992

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list