cherry

/ˈt͡ʃɛɹi/

//ˈt͡ʃɛɹi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cherry” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,303. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,303
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small fruit, usually red, black or yellow, with a smooth hard seed and a short hard stem.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cherry · cherry · English

cherry · rank #5,303 · 8 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,303
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH ceiling

Nearest frequency peer: ceiling (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cherry”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cherry” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cherry vs curry
67% similar
cherry vs chevy
67% similar
cherry vs chewy
67% similar

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

Key facts for cherry
PropertyValue
Headwordcherry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt͡ʃɛɹi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,303
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cherry”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).cherrylands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “ceiling” (#5,302), “chill” (#5,304), “carpet” (#5,301). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cherry” is #5,303. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around cherry (IPA /ˈt͡ʃɛɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,303 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for cherry, with forms such as "ccherry", "cehrry", and "cherryy". 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 18 confusable-pair relationships, "curry", "chevy", "chewy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English chery, cherie, chirie, from Anglo-Norman cherise (mistaken as a plural) and Old English ċiris, ċirse (“cherry”), from Proto-West Germanic *kirsijā, from Vulgar Latin ceresia, derived from Late Latin ceresium, cerasium, from Ancient Greek… The correct English form is cherry, spelled C-H-E-R-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small fruit, usually red, black or yellow, with a smooth hard seed and a short hard stem.
  2. 2
    Prunus subg. Cerasus, trees or shrubs that bear cherries.
  3. 3
    The wood of a cherry tree.
  4. 4
    Cherry red.
  5. 5
    The fruit of the coffee plant, containing the seeds or beans.
  6. 6
    Virginity, especially female virginity as embodied by a hymen.
  7. 7
    A subtree consisting of a node with exactly two leaves.
  8. 8
    A red cricket ball.
  9. 9
    A reddish mark left on the bat by the impact of the ball.
  10. 10
    A round, red light of the kind that is typically mounted on top of a police car.
  11. 11
    The burning tip of a cigarette.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "Well, Dangerfield, in less than an hour I'm off in search of my fortune. Jesus, I'm excited, like I was going to lose my cherry. Woke up this morning with an erection that almost touched the ceiling."
  2. Nothing stands in your way when you're a boy / Clothes always fit ya / Life is a pop of the cherry when you're a boy

Etymology

From Middle English chery, cherie, chirie, from Anglo-Norman cherise (mistaken as a plural) and Old English ċiris, ċirse (“cherry”), from Proto-West Germanic *kirsijā, from Vulgar Latin ceresia, derived from Late Latin ceresium, cerasium, from Ancient Greek κεράσιον (kerásion, “cherry fruit”), from κερασός (kerasós, “bird cherry”), and ultimately possibly of Anatolian origin (the intervocalic σ suggests a pre-Greek origin for the word). Doublet of cerise, Giresun, and kirsch.

This word in other languages

cereza(Español)cerise(Français)Kirsche(Deutsch)cereja(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccherry
  • cehrry
  • cherryy
  • chery
  • cheryr
  • chherry
  • chrery
  • hcerry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cherry - 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.

ccherry1cehrry2cherryy1chery1cheryr2chherry1chrery2hcerry2
Edit distance from "cherry"

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 "cherry"?
"cherry" is spelled C-H-E-R-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃɛɹi/.
What does "cherry" mean?
As a noun, "cherry" means: A small fruit, usually red, black or yellow, with a smooth hard seed and a short hard stem.
What words are commonly confused with "cherry"?
"cherry" is commonly confused with "curry", "chevy", "chewy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cherry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cherry" is /ˈt͡ʃɛɹi/. 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 "cherry"?
From Middle English chery, cherie, chirie, from Anglo-Norman cherise (mistaken as a plural) and Old English ċiris, ċirse (“cherry”), from Proto-West Germanic *kirsijā, from Vulgar Latin ceresia, derived from Late Latin ceresium, cerasium, from Anc... 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 "cherry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

carpet#5,301cancel#5,300wasted#5,281turner#5,279

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

didnt8 variantstobacco8 variantsgrows8 variantssandy8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list